Global stocks rise in expectation of pause in interest rate hikes

Stocks worldwide rose on Tuesday as investors welcomed public policy moves in the UK and China, while expectations also grew of a pause in interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

DUBLIN

Euronext Dublin finished the day up 0.3 per cent but lagged a number of its international peers as many of its bigger hitters trod water.

Building material giant CRH climbed just 0.2 per cent, while Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment was flat. It was a slow day of trading also for Kerry Group as the dairy company finished up 0.4 per cent.

“When you have those big boys not powering ahead, it can drag the index back,” a trader in Dublin noted. “That being said, it was generally a better day than Monday for most of our bigger stocks.”

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The main mover on the day was Dalata, which operates the Clayton and Maldron brands in Ireland and the UK, including three properties in Northern Ireland.

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It climbed 2.3 per cent after it reported a 29 per cent year-on-year increase in hotel revenues to €284.4 million for the six-month period to the end June in half-year results.

Elsewhere, Ryanair rose 0.4 per cent despite being forced to cancel hundreds of flights affecting 40,000 passengers on Monday and Tuesday due to an air traffic control technical fault in the UK.

LONDON

Housebuilders on London’s FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 gained more than £870 million (€1 billion) in value after the government moved to relax environmental rules in a bid to speed up the building of new homes.

The UK’s top index jumped to a two-week high in a cheerful session following the bank holiday weekend. It gained 1.72 per cent.

Shares in housebuilders Persimmon, Barratt Developments and Taylor Wimpey rose sharply during the day at the prospect of strict EU-era planning restrictions being eased under plans to provide an additional 100,000 new homes in England by 2030.

In company news, shares in Bunzl jumped higher after the outsourcing group upped its profit expectations for the year after seeing cost pressures ease and following efforts to boost its margins.

The FTSE 100-listed firm told shareholders it now expects its annual underlying earnings to be “moderately higher” than in 2022. Its share price closed 3.1 per cent higher.

Shares in Watches of Switzerland rallied 5.2 per cent after the stock suffered sharp falls last week following Rolex’s purchase of rival chain Bucherer, which could shake up the luxury watch market.

EUROPE

European shares extended their rally with a boost from the mining sector as Beijing’s recent policy moves to jump-start China’s languid economy fuelled demand hopes.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.92 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.83 per cent.

Germany’s Dax jumped 0.88 per cent, while France’s Cac 40 was up 0.67 per cent at close of business.

NEW YORK

Wall Street’s main indexes rose, lifted by growth stocks such as Tesla and Alphabet after a drop in monthly job openings cemented expectations of a pause in interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note eased to 4.13 per cent, while that on the two-year note fell back below 5 per cent after hovering at about that level for the past few sessions.

The decline in yields supported most growth stocks, with Microsoft, Alphabet, Nvidia and Tesla up between 1.5 per cent and 6 per cent.

Alphabet shares also received a boost from a swath of fresh artificial intelligence technology and partnerships unveiled by the Google parent.

The S&P 500 communication services sector rose 2.6 per cent, while consumer discretionary and technology stocks gained 1.9 per cent each. The tech-heavy Nasdaq was at a more than two-week high. — Additional reporting: Agencies