Global stocks edge higher as investors await earnings reports

Global stock indexes were higher on Monday as investors awaited further earnings reports, while the dollar fell to a two-week low against the yen ahead of central bank meetings.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin finished the day up 30 basis points, slightly lagging its international peers.

The airlines mainly enjoyed a positive day with EasyJet and Wizz Air up 2 per cent and 4 per cent respectively, but Ryanair finished down slightly. “That was mainly due to speculation that they might reduce or cancel their Boeing order because they are frustrated with the slow delivery of aircraft, which has already impacted their January and February schedule,” one trader suggested.

Elsewhere, it was a mixed bag for the Irish banks. Permanent TSB made up some ground at it climbed 1 per cent, while AIB and Bank of Ireland were down 40 basis points and up 30 basis points respectively.

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Food names rallied throughout the day as most, with the exception of Kerry Group which lagged, climbed about 3 per cent.

Among the construction groups, insulation specialist Kingspan and Woodies DIY parent Grafton Group both finished the day up marginally.

Dalata – the biggest hotel operator in the State – was up 2.5 per cent at close of business. “There was decent volume there on Friday and there was ongoing selling last week,” a trader said. “It looks like that has been completed and the stock has rebounded.”

London

The FTSE 100 climbed 0.5 per cent despite another round of losses for under pressure banking stocks.

HSBC was among the biggest fallers on the blue-chip index on Monday after it became the last of the UK’s “big four” banks to unveil its third-quarter earnings. Despite seeing profits more than double, the bank said its net interest margin was slightly lower this quarter compared with the previous three months as more people moved money out of current accounts and into savings.

It follows rival banks Barclays and NatWest also seeing slower margins thanks to heightened competition in the savings market. HSBC and NatWest’s share prices were more than 2 per cent lower on Monday.

In company news Airtel Africa jumped to the top of the FTSE 100 after the telecommunications giant said its revenues rose a fifth higher in the six months to September, compared with the same period last year. The company cheered the improved financial results despite currency volatility in Nigeria weighing on its performance. Shares in Airtel Africa closed 4.6 per cent higher.

Shares in Pearson moved higher after the educational publisher upgraded its outlook for the year after revenues grew in the third quarter. The company now expects adjusted operating profit be about £20 million higher than previous expectations, and that revenue growth would also be in the higher range of what it had previously guided. Its share price lifted 2.9 per cent.

Europe

European stocks recovered as investors slowly regained their appetite for riskier investments following last week’s tough spell for stocks.

The positive sentiment helped give European stocks a boost to start the week. Germany’s Dax was up 0.2 per cent and France’s Cac 40 moved 0.42 per cent higher.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.4 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.59 per cent.

New York

Wall Street’s main indexes rose, boosted by megacap growth stocks ahead of a busy week of earnings and interest rate decisions from major central banks, including the Federal Reserve.

Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms, which reported earnings last week, rose between 1 per cent and 2.6 per cent. Tesla was the only major growth name in the red, down 4.5 per cent.

The communication services index jumped 1.8 per cent, leading the advance among major S&P 500 sectors.

Aiding gains, McDonald’s rose 1.8 per cent after beating estimates for third-quarter profit and sales. – Additional reporting: Agencies