AEX during the financial crisis.

As we all know, 2007, 2008 and 2009 were the years of the financial crisis. Worldwide companies went bankrupt, most of these companies were banks. Because of the rising uncertainty on the American mortage market, the AEX index dropped to 401 index points. When these uncertainties kept rising, Dutch financial institutions like Fortis, Aegon and ING, began to make less profit. Because of that the AEX's index points dropped even further.

In the beginning of the year 2008, the AEX bit by bit recoverd. It got close to 500 index points, but it did not take long before it dropped again. On 29 september, 2008 the index points dropped 8,8 percent, and if that was not enough, just a week later it dropped another 9 percent. It was 8 oktober, 2008 that the AEX's index points got below 300. Because of the development on the American index Wall Street( it dropped 7 percent), the AEX dropped another 10 percent, to reach 254 index points. So in less than a year it dropped from almost 500 points, to just 254 point. The AEX closed the year at 245,94 points, that means they lost a staggering 52 percent in just one year. Never had a lost been bigger than this.

The year 2009 began hopefull, in 2 months they reach 270 points. But when on 9 march, 2009 Fortis goes bankrupt, the AEX's index points drop to 194,99. The las time the index got below 200 points was in 1995. Besides that, the year 2009 has been a good year for the AEX. At this moment it has 337 points, that is a rise of almost 73 percent since march this year. 2009 has been the best year for the AEX in the last decade.