Global equities edge lower as markets await word from Federal Reserve

A gauge of global equities edged lower and the dollar inched up on Tuesday as markets awaited word from the Federal Reserve chief after last week’s blockbuster US jobs number made clear interest rates will stay higher for longer to combat inflation.

DUBLIN

Euronext Dublin was down 0.5 per cent on what was a quiet day for the index with volumes across Europe down about 20 per cent this week.

Among the financial names, Bank of Ireland was up 0.8 per cent, while AIB finished the day up 0.5 per cent. “Both those names have been on the upswing over the past few months, so they maintained that,” noted a trader.

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Among the big hitters, Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment was down 1 per cent, while building materials giant CRH was up 0.1 per cent.

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Elsewhere, Ryanair was down 1 per cent while Kerry Group also finished the day down 1 per cent.

LONDON

The FTSE 100 finished the day up 0.4 per cent, although about two-thirds of companies on the index finished the day in the red.

Oil giant BP was up 8 per cent, while Shell ended the day up 2 per cent. Among the banks, HSBC closed up 1.5 per cent.

Among the main fallers, Pearson, Melrose Industries, and Compass Group all finished the day down 2-2.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was down 1 per cent at the close of business.

EUROPE

European shares edged higher in early trading ahead of comments by central bank policymakers against the backdrop of expectations that the global interest-rate increase cycle would last for longer, while bumper profits from BP lifted energy stocks.

The broad pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.04 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of global stock performance shed 0.12 per cent.

The energy index was the top sector index performer with 1.4 per cent gains and was set for its biggest one-day climb in a month.

BP jumped 4 per cent and was on track for its biggest single-day increase in two months following record profit, increased dividend and a $2.75-billion (€2.57 billion) share buyback.

Losses in industrial shares capped the upside for the Stoxx 600. Airbus SE fell 1.8 per cent after Berenberg downgraded the aerospace and defence company’s stock to “sell” from “hold”.

Siemens Energy fell 4.3 per cent after its first-quarter net loss more than doubled, while the euro zone’s largest lender BNP Paribas gained 1.5 per cent after raising its 2025 targets and announcing a €5 billion share buyback in 2023.

Demant jumped 6.4 per cent after the hearing-aid manufacturer’s operating profits for the second half of 2022 topped expectations. The company said it expects 2023 organic growth between 3 per cent and 7 per cent.

NEW YORK

During early trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.34 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.18 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.03 per cent.

Capping declines on the tech-heavy Nasdaq was megacap Microsoft. The company’s shares added 1.9 per cent.

US-listed shares of Baidu soared 8.9 per cent as the Chinese search engine said it would conclude the testing of its ChatGPT-style project ‘Ernie Bot’ in March.

Seven of the top 11 sectors on the S&P 500 were in decline, but technology was among top gainers propped up by Microsoft.

Among top gainers on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, Boeing climbed 0.8 per cent after the US plane maker confirmed on Monday that it expects to cut about 2,000 white-collar jobs through attrition and lay-offs.

Expectations of high rates for a protracted period dragged Wall Street’s main indexes down on Monday. But, all three major averages are in the black for 2023, with the Nasdaq adding over 13 per cent, led by a revival in battered mega-cap growth stocks.

So far, more than half of the companies on the S&P 500 have reported quarterly earnings, with 69.1 per cent of them beating expectations, according to Refinitiv. Still, analysts expect fourth-quarter earnings to decline 3.1 per cent. — Additional reporting: Agencies