Miners add momentum to European shares despite tech woes

European shares extended gains on Thursday despite a sell-off in tech stocks and mixed corporate results across the continent.

US equities indices, meanwhile, were trending lower after a disappointing series of results from tech companies and sharp increases in commodities prices.

Dublin

On relatively low trading volumes, the Iseq index declined 0.5 per cent on Thursday, diverging slightly from its European peers due to the performance of a handful of heavyweights.

Ryanair fell by close to 1 per cent to €16.35 after its UK competitor EasyJet reported record a pretax profit of £203 million for the three months to the end of June, up from a £114 million loss a year earlier. However, the British low-cost carrier also warned that its outlook for the rest of the year remained dependent on navigating “unprecedented” air traffic control disruption in Europe, an issue about which Ryanair has also been vocal in recent months.

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Meanwhile, traders in Dublin said Kingspan had “run out of steam” after recent gains, with shares in the insulation giant down by almost 2.5 per cent to €70.36. Paddy Power owner Flutter was also weaker by about 2 per cent, finishing the session at €177.60 per share.

CRH was a bright spot for the Irish market on Thursday. The building materials giant finished the session up 1.7 per cent to €52.66 per share, while packaging group Smurfit Kappa added 1 per cent to close at €34.29.

Europe

Despite a sharp sell-off in tech stocks, Europe’s main equity gauge, the Stoxx 600, advanced by 0.4 per cent while the blue-chip Stoxx 50 added close to 0.3 per cent.

Chipmakers ASML, ASM International and Aixtron slumped all by between 3 per cent and 5.3 per cent after Taiwan Semiconductor cut its outlook despite the boom in AI development.

That was offset by Anglo American’s second-quarter beat which put the main equity gauge back into the green.

Saab climbed 3.5 per cent after the Swedish defence group raised its organic sales growth forecast, while Norwegian telecoms operator Telenor gained 5.1 per cent after reporting second-quarter earnings slightly above expectations.

Shares in Volvo dropped 2.5 per cent after the carmaker posted a 54 per cent fall in its second-quarter operating earnings.

London

The benchmark FTSE 100 index added 0.8 per while the midcap FTSE 250 was flat on Thursday as mining stocks rose on higher metal prices, while global miner Anglo American topped the main index after reporting a jump in first-half copper production.

Industrial metal miners gained 3.2 per cent as prices of most base metals rose on short covering following a report that the Chinese government is looking at supportive measures for the real-estate market.

Anglo American added 3.6 per cent after reporting a 42 per cent surge in first-half copper production. Antofagasta and Glencore also added between 2.7 per cent and 3.6 per cent on the session.

Meanwhile, IG Group rose 3.9 per cent after the online trading platform raised its dividend and said it would buy back shares after it recorded total revenue of £1 billion (€1.2 billion) for the first time in its history.

Dunelm advanced 2.7 per cent after the home furnishings retailer said it expected full-year profit to be “slightly” higher than market expectations.

Babcock International jumped 7.5 per cent after the engineering company reinstated dividend for the financial year 2024.

New York

US equities and treasuries fell Thursday as investors digested a round of disappointing tech earnings and a spike in commodity prices including wheat.

While the Dow Jones Industrial Average was on track for a 0.6 per cent gain by closing bell in Dublin, the S&P 500 had shed as much as 0.4 per cent.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100, meanwhile, fell more than 1.2 per cent, with Netflix set for its biggest intraday decline since December after missing sales estimates and issuing a disappointing revenue forecast. Shares in the streaming plunged as much as 9 per cent despite a better-than-expected increase in subscription numbers, marking its best second quarter since the depths of the pandemic three years ago.

Tesla slid by close to 7 per cent after profitability shrank in the second quarter, a sign the electric-vehicle maker’s margins are being squeezed. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters