Global stocks hit record high as markets shrug off inflation concerns

Global stocks hit a record high on Tuesday as markets shrugged off concerns about rising inflation.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin was up just over 0.6 per cent, driven mainly by gains in the travel and leisure sector following recent announcements of the Government’s plans to reopen society and Tuesday’s road map for economic recovery.

Among the standout performers were Ryanair, which was up about 1.3 per cent, and Dalata – the biggest hotel operator in the State – which was up 1.5 per cent.

In the construction sector, insulation maker Kingspan was up 1.5 per cent. "It hit the €78 mark, so it has been doing very well in recent days," said a trader. "It was down in the 60s only a number of weeks ago."

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In the same sector, Grafton Group was up 2.8 per cent, while building materials group CRH ended the day up 1.3 per cent.

Among the builders, Glenveagh Properties was down 80 basis points, while Cairn Homes was down 40 basis points. Elsewhere, Hibernia Reit finished down 60 basis points, while Ires Reit ended the day up by the same amount.

In finance, Bank of Ireland was up 2.2 per cent on the day, outperforming AIB which was up only 0.5 per cent. In the food sector, Greencore was up 1.7 per cent, and Glanbia was up 70 basis points.

London

The British mid-cap stock index rose to a record high, helped by gains in industrials and consumer discretionary stocks, while an upbeat reading on factory activity infused confidence in the economic recovery.

The domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index advanced 0.8 per cent as a deluge of new orders helped drive a record increase in British manufacturing activity last month as the economy began to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.

The blue-chip index climbed 0.8 per cent, with base-metal miners gaining 3.7 per cent as they tracked higher copper and iron ore prices.

Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell added more than 1.2 per cent each after Brent crude topped $70 mark on favourable demand outlook.

Mortgage lender Nationwide said British house prices jumped by an annual 10.9 per cent, the most in nearly seven years, apparently set to accelerate further as people seek new homes after the pandemic.

Europe

European stocks hit fresh record highs, as strong metal and oil prices boosted shares of big commodity companies, and data showed euro-zone manufacturing activity expanded at a record pace in May.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index gained 0.8 per cent in the first trading session of June, with UK’s blue-chip index rising 0.8 per cent after a holiday on Monday.

The German Dax jumped 1.0 per cent to a new record high, while France’s CAC 40 added 0.7 per cent.

Miners such as Anglo American, BHP Group and Glencore climbed nearly 4 per cent each, giving the biggest boost to the Stoxx 600 as prices of copper and other metals rose.

German carmaker Daimler rose 2.6 per cent after it agreed to pay Nokia for using its patents, ending a row over royalties for key technologies.

New York

The S&P 500 and the Dow rose, with the benchmark S&P 500 within 0.5 per cent of its record high as investors cheered signs of an improving economy ahead of a week packed with major data that is expected to shed more light on the path of inflation.

Abbott Laboratories fell 7.8 per cent, weighing the most on the S&P 500, after cutting its full-year 2021 profit forecast due to a projected drop in Covid-19 diagnostic testing demand.

Cloudera jumped 24 per cent after private-equity firms KKR & Co and Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC agreed to take the data-analytics firm private in a $5.3 billion dollar deal. – (Additional reporting: Agencies)