Europe’s benchmark index closes at record high

Europe’s benchmark Stoxx 600 index closed at a record high on Wednesday as investors cheered strong earnings from companies including Anheuser-Busch Inbev and Siemens, while market-watchers also mulled the possible timeline of major central bank rate cuts.

Better-than-expected economic growth in China and Europe and potential rate cuts from the European Central Bank suggest further recovery in earnings in coming quarters, analysts at Deutsche Bank wrote.

Dublin

The Iseq added 0.5 per cent as gains for Ryanair and Kingspan offset slips for bank stocks. The airline rose more than 2 per cent to €19.39, while insulation-maker Kingspan advanced 1.7 per cent to €89.60.

It was a more subdued session for packaging group Smurfit Kappa, which edged down 0.1 per cent to €43.75, while Kerry nudged 0.2 per cent lower to close at €80.30.

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The banks were also in the red, with Bank of Ireland slipping almost 1.4 per cent to €10.59 and AIB shedding 1 per cent to close at €5.12.

London

The FTSE 100 index scaled new highs following upbeat corporate updates and as investors awaited the Bank of England’s interest rate verdict.

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The exporter-heavy, blue-chip FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.5 per cent, with the index also supported by a weaker pound. Sterling slipped against the dollar as expectations of a dovish hold by the UK’s central bank at Thursday’s monetary policy meeting weighed on the currency.

AstraZeneca shares advanced 1.2 per cent after the drugmaker said it initiated a worldwide withdrawal of its Covid-19 vaccine due to a “surplus of available updated vaccines” since the pandemic.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 index also gained 0.4 per cent to stay at around 15-month highs.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended up 0.3 per cent at a record high, building on Tuesday’s jump of more than 1 per cent.

Industrial stocks boosted the main index after Siemens Energy raised its 2024 outlook and announced a second-quarter results beat. The power equipment maker’s shares rose 4.7 per cent to lead gains on the German benchmark index.

Anheuser-Busch Inbev advanced 5.6 per cent after posting consensus-beating first-quarter earnings and confirming its 2024 outlook. The world’s largest beer maker was the top gainer in Belgium’s main index and was the biggest boost to the Stoxx’s food and beverages index, which rose 1.6 per cent to lead sectoral advances.

German sportswear maker Puma advanced 11 per cent after first-quarter sales came in line with expectations, while supermarket group Ahold Delhaize rose 2.4 per cent after a first-quarter core profit margin beat.

Italy’s Leonardo rose 2.7 per cent on first-quarter orders and revenue growth. The broader aerospace and defence index rose 1.4 per cent.

BMW lost 2.9 per cent after its car segment’s first-quarter EBIT margin missed consensus, helping to pull the automobiles index down 1.3 per cent and making it among the worst sector performers.

Sabadell lost 4.3 per cent after BBVA told the smaller Spanish lender it was not planning to improve its all-share takeover offer.

US

On Wall Street, the benchmark S&P 500 was broadly unchanged in the first hours of trading, pausing after a recent rally as investors assessed the outlook for US monetary policy, while Uber’s shares dropped on a downbeat forecast. Uber shed nearly 9 per cent, making its stock the biggest decliner on the S&P 500, after the ride-hailing platform forecast second-quarter gross bookings below expectations and posted a surprise first-quarter loss.

Tesla fell 1.5 per cent after Reuters reported US prosecutors were examining whether the company committed securities or wire fraud by misleading investors and consumers about its electric vehicles’ self-driving capabilities.

Other mega-cap stocks such as Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet slipped. Intel fell 2.9 per cent after warning of a sales hit following from the US revoking some of the chipmaker’s export licences for China.

Additional reporting: Reuters

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