Global stocks rise as markets await news from central banks

A gauge of global stocks rose on Tuesday, erasing earlier declines, while US Treasury yields mostly moved lower after investors digested economic data and earnings reports ahead of a string of central bank policy announcements.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin finished the day down 0.28 per cent as the market adopted a holding pattern ahead of expected rate changes.

In stock news packaging company Smurfit Kappa was down 0.3 per cent following an afternoon rally. A trader in Dublin noted: “Smurfit had been much weaker but it made up a lot of that ground after International Paper, which is a peer of Smurfit Kappa, increased its share price by 9 per cent after it had numbers out in the US.”

Budget airline Ryanair gave up some recent gains and finished the day down 1.9 per cent just a day after the airline confirmed it earned €211 million profit in the three months ended December 31st.

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Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment was up 0.6 per cent ahead of results of its US peer Entain on Wednesday.

Among the banks, AIB was up 0.5 per cent while Bank of Ireland ended the day down 0.25 per cent having traded more than 5 million shares, which was more than double what it would normally trade.

Elsewhere, building materials giant CRH was flat on the day, while insulation specialist Kingspan was down 1.7 per cent.

London

UK markets slipped into the red after a stark report from the International Monetary Fund warned that Britain will be the only major economy to plunge into recession this year. London’s leading indices all suffered losses on Tuesday, with the gloomy outlook hitting investor sentiment.

The FTSE 100 declined, dragged down by losses for basic resources and energy firms like Weir Group, Anglo American and United Utilities Group. It closed down 0.17 per cent.

In company news Tesco hit the headlines after revealing a shake-up of its stores that could put 2,100 jobs at risk. Separately, the supermarket giant announced it was buying the Paperchase brand after the stationery chain fell into administration. Shares in Tesco dipped by 0.69 per cent at close.

Lucky Strike and Camel cigarette maker British American Tobacco warned of possible job cuts after announcing plans to restructure the business and merge its European and Americas divisions. The FTSE 100-listed firm saw its share price edge up by 0.95 per cent.

Europe

European shares ended the day largely flat ahead of the central bank meetings. Economic data for the euro zone showed slight growth for the fourth quarter, but further weakness is expected this year.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.22 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.20 per cent. MSCI’s index was on pace for its biggest January percentage gain since 2019. Elsewhere in Europe the German Dax and French Cac were flat.

On a busy day for bank results, Switzerland’s UBS Group retreated after weakness in its equities and wealth management sales.

New York

On Wall Street US stocks were slightly higher, getting a boost from data that showed labour costs growth in the fourth quarter was the smallest in a year with a 1 per cent increase.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose or 0.3 per cent; the S&P 500 gained 0.68 per cent; while the Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.04 per cent. The S&P 500, up about 5.2 per cent for the month, is on track for its best January performance since 2019.

United Parcel Service jumped 4 per cent on strong quarterly earnings, boosting the Dow Jones Transport Average index.

Capping gains on the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was Caterpillar, down 5.3 per cent after reporting a drop in quarterly profit on higher manufacturing costs.

McDonald’s dropped 1.9 per cent on warnings of short-term inflationary pressures, while Pfizer dipped 0.3 per cent after the drugmaker’s full-year revenue outlook for its Covid-19 products fell short of expectations. (Additional reporting: Agencies)