The Stockholm Stock Exchange opened higher on Thursday following reports that the U.S. has again targeted Iran amid ongoing peace negotiations. Market activity is highlighted by EQT selling shares in Beijer Ref to Melker Schörling, while Vestum has announced a multi-billion krona divestment.

By 09.30, the OMXS30 index had risen 0.35 percent to 3,064.61. Shares worth approximately SEK 1.7bn were traded on the Stockholm exchange.

Energy led the gains among major industrial sectors, rising 0.9 percent. Conversely, real estate lagged at the bottom of the table, declining 1.1 percent.

Among the leading equities in the OMXS30 index, Boliden climbed 2.3 percent while Volvo B rose 1.6 percent. Hexagon B saw the weakest performance, falling 1.4 percent, while EQT dropped 0.6 percent.

Private equity firm EQT has entered into an agreement to sell its entire holding of unlisted A-shares in cooling wholesaler Beijer Ref to Melker Schörling AB (MSAB) at an undisclosed premium. In connection with the deal, Peter Jessen Jürgensen is also selling his A-shares, with a portion being exchanged for B-shares from EQT. Following the transaction, EQT will remain a shareholder with just over 30.7m B-shares. Beijer Ref rose 7.2 percent while EQT retreated.

Vestum has reached an agreement to sell Flowa Technology to private equity firm Nordic Capital for SEK 6.5bn in cash, on a cash and debt-free basis. In conjunction with the transaction, Vestum's board has appointed Conny Ryk as the new CEO, effective immediately. The stock surged 27.6 percent.

Camurus announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter regarding the company's marketing authorization application for CAM2029 (Oclaiz) for the treatment of acromegaly. The stock fell 6.8 percent.

Theope Seed Capital increased its holding in blood analysis company Cellavision by 125,000 shares on June 8:9. The total purchase price amounted to SEK 15.98m at an average price of SEK 127.86 per share. Theope is linked to Cellavision founder and board member Christer Fåhraeus. The stock rose 0.5 percent.

British testing and certification firm Intertek stated in a press release that EQT has requested more time to complete its confirmatory due diligence and internal decision-making process regarding a potential acquisition of the company. Meanwhile, EQT confirmed that the terms of its previously submitted indicative bid remain unchanged, featuring a cash offer of GBP 60 per share.

NCC has been commissioned by Gnesta Municipality to build a new water treatment plant and a raw water pumping station. The order value is approximately SEK 120m. NCC rose 0.7 percent.

Construction firm Skanska is divesting a self-developed rental housing project on Hisingen in Gothenburg to the Folksam Group through KPA Pension for approximately SEK 500m. The stock fell 0.2 percent.

Pareto Securities has upgraded Volvo to Buy from Hold. The upgrade follows yesterday's capital markets day, after which Volvo's share price saw a marked decline. Pareto views the price drop as excessive.

Kepler Cheuvreux has downgraded Investor to Hold (Buy), with a target price of SEK 403 (385). The stock was up 0.1 percent.