Global shares slip as Wall Street tech giants warn of rising cost of AI

World shares slipped on Wednesday, pulled lower by a slide on Wall Street as tech giants Alphabet and Microsoft warned of the rising cost of powering and developing artificial intelligence.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin finished down 0.4 per cent at 9,178.12 on Wednesday, a “weaker day” compared to the rest of January according to Dublin traders, which reflected a decline in stock markets globally.

Among the Irish banks, AIB declined by 0.1 per cent to €4.08, while Bank of Ireland also fell, down 0.91 per cent to €8.53. Permanent TSB gained 0.29 per cent to €1.72.

Home builder Cairn Homes gained 0.14 per cent to close at €1.42, while peer Glenveagh Properties fell by 1.45 per cent, to €1.23.

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Building materials company Kingspan dropped 0.66 per cent to €75.56, and packaging company Smurfit Kappa was also down on the day, falling by 1.96 per cent to €34.55.

Food company Glanbia was one of the biggest upward movers on the day, gaining 1.53 per cent to €16.54. Kerry Group also saw gains, rising by 0.88 per cent to €82.68.

Amid a generally weaker performing airline sector, budget airline Ryanair fell 0.75 per cent, to close at €19.32.

Insurer FBD Holdings fell by 2.49 per cent to €11.75, while Dalata Hotel Group which operates the Clayton and Maldron brands fell by 0.93 per cent to €4.81.

London

The UK’s export-heavy FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.47 per cent on Wednesday, to 7,630.57, while the more domestically focused FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index rose marginally by 0.04 per cent, to close at 19,357.95.

Vodafone slipped by 2.08 per cent after French telecom operator Iliad said the UK firm had rejected its revised proposal to merge their Italian businesses.

Meanwhile, shares of GSK rose by 1.96 per cent, as the drugmaker beat market estimates for its fourth-quarter results.

Harbour Energy fell 5.43 per cent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the oil and gas producer’s shares to “sell” from “buy”.

Europe

European shares rose slightly overall on Wednesday, lifted by robust corporate updates and strong market performances in Spain and Italy.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index rose by 0.04 per cent to 485.68, while the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.27 per cent to 7,656.75, and the German DAX Index was down 0.40 per cent to 16,903.76.

Financial services gained, lifted by a 2.08 per cent rise for Spanish lender Santander, which posted a record-high profit for the last quarter of 2023, beating forecasts.

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk gained 3.56 per cent, hitting an all-time high after Europe’s most valuable company forecast another year of double-digit sales and operating profit growth due to its popular weight-loss drug Wegovy.

H&M, however, slumped 12.37 per cent after the Swedish fashion retailer posted a fall in its fourth quarter margin, and its chief executive unexpectedly stepped down.

New York

Wall Street’s three main indices fell on Wednesday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq suffering the most as Alphabet and Microsoft’s projections for rising AI costs dragged down megacap and chip stocks.

US investors were in a holding pattern ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest decision on interest rates.

Google parent Alphabet slumped after the company reported holiday-season advertising sales below expectations and projected higher spending this year on items such as servers to power artificial intelligence.

Microsoft also lost after forecasting rising costs to develop new artificial intelligence features, which overshadowed upbeat quarterly results.

Apple, Meta Platforms and Amazon also fell on Wednesday, as all three are set to deliver their earnings updates on Thursday.

Advanced Micro Devices fell as the chipmaker’s first-quarter revenue forecast and a boosted projection for AI processors by $1.5 billion (€1.38 billion) failed to meet expectations.

Other chip stocks Nvidia, Intel, Broadcom and Marvell Technology also declined.

Among others, Tesla dell after a Delaware judge tossed out Elon Musk’s record-breaking $56 billion (€51.62 billion) Tesla pay package.

Additional reporting from Reuters.

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