Amsterdam  - The main index on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, the AEX, on Tuesday posted a slight loss - down 0.54 per cent - at 11:30 am (0930 GMT), remaining volatile throughout the morning.

Opening with a gain of 2.4 per cent, the index slipped to a low of 306.78 points at 10:30 am, to recover slightly one hour later.

Bank and insurance company ING Group led the list of companies losing out most (down 5.78 per cent).

Trade in former Belgian-Dutch bank and insurance giant Fortis, that was taken over by the governments of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg and French bank BNP Paribas, remained suspended Tuesday.

Fortis was due to make an announcement about the possible resumption of its stock trade at 12:00 (1000 GMT). (dpa)