European shares edged higher on Thursday, maintaining Wednesday’s gains as US inflation data further stoked bets on a September Federal Reserve rate cut.
Meanwhile, German inflation eased to 2.5 per cent in June, confirming preliminary data and leaving the door open for another European Central Bank rate cut in September.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Shares index added 0.8 per cent, mostly outperforming its European peers as US consumer price data fuelled a broad-based rally.
DCC’s London-listed shares slipped 1.4 per cent after the Irish services and distribution conglomerate posted what traders in Dublin described as “slightly disappointing” second-quarter operating profits.
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Industrials and construction materials stocks led gains with Kingspan up more than 3 per cent to €86.05 per share.
A rally in Irish bank shares fizzled somewhat with AIB ahead 0.5 per cent at €5.19 per share while Bank of Ireland advanced 0.4 per cent to €10.20.
Ryanair, meanwhile, continued to underperform its UK and European peers, adding 0.7 per cent to close at €17.34 per share.
LONDON
The benchmark FTSE 100 index moved ahead by 0.3 per cent while the mid-cap FTSE 250 advanced by almost 1.2 per cent after data showed Britain’s economy grew more quickly than expected in May.
UK utilities including Severn Trent, up by more than 4 per cent, and Pennon Group, up by 9 per cent, gained after regulator Ofwat published its long-awaited draft determination.
Rates-sensitive bank stocks also improved on the session. NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds were all ahead by close to 1 per cent while HSBC bucked the trend, slipping 0.6 per cent.
EUROPE
The blue-chip Stoxx 50 advanced by 0.4 per cent while the pan-European Stoxx 600 gained 0.7 per cent. French stocks led gains as investors crept back into a market that had been a cause for worry amid political upheaval in recent weeks.
French luxury giants including Ray-Bans owner EssilorLuxottica and LVMH, up 2 per cent and 1.85 per cent respectively, were among the biggest individual movers on the day with Jameson owner Pernod Ricard also ahead by 1.9 per cent.
Vivendi jumped by more than 3 per cent after JP Morgan placed the stock on its “positive catalyst watch”.
DNB, Norway’s largest bank, surged 6 per cent after it reported higher-than-expected second-quarter earnings and said its results were supported by a stable economy.
Barry Callebaut slipped 10.4 per cent to the bottom of the Stoxx 600 even as the Swiss chocolate maker reported slightly higher sales volumes for the nine months ended May, despite surging cocoa prices pressuring demand.
NEW YORK
In an up and down session, Wall Street’s main indices were a mixed bag by closing bell in Dublin with the Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 both trending lower while the Dow Jones Industrial Average held on to gains.
A labour department report showed consumer prices fell unexpectedly and that the annual increase was the smallest in a year, reinforcing views that the disinflation trend was back in play. The data is a welcome sign for Federal Reserve policymakers looking for evidence that inflation is back on track to their 2 per cent goal, leading traders to increase bets on a September rate cut.
Mega stocks including Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet and Nvidia fell between 0.5 per cent and 0.7 per cent, after rising briefly in premarket trading after the data.
Among headlining stocks, Delta Air Lines slumped 8.2 per cent, on track for its biggest one-day fall since mid-January, after forecasting lower-than-expected profits in the current quarter.
United Airlines Holdings, American Airlines Group, Spirit Airlines, Alaska Air Group and JetBlue Airways fell between 4 per cent and 6 per cent.
PepsiCo shed 1.4 per cent after the soda and snacks maker missed expectations for second-quarter revenue.
ConAgra Brands fell 4.1 per cent after the packaged foods maker forecast annual revenue and profit below estimates, while Citigroup slipped 2 per cent after US bank regulators fined the lender $136 million (€125.1 million). – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
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