Markets surged on Wednesday with miners leading the way in Europe as gold prices hit a record $4,000 an ounce.
Dublin
Glenveagh slid almost 4 per cent to €1.81 after shareholder Teleios Capital sold a 5.3 per cent stake in the listed house builder.
Brokers dubbed the placing of the shares, on Tuesday night, a success as this was priced at €1.77, leaving anyone who bought the stock “in the money” by the close on Wednesday.
Lender Permanent TSB climbed 2.27 per cent to €2.25. Analysts at stockbroker Davy increased their target price for the bank to €3.25 from €3 on Wednesday.
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Ryanair gained 2.15 per cent to €25.63 on a day when investors favoured airlines. Dealers speculated that the airline “could see €26 again”.
London
Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Wednesday, buoyed by gains in heavyweight financial stocks, while gold miners rallied as bullion prices surged to historic levels.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.7 per cent to 9,548.87.
Aer Lingus owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group climbed 2.64 per cent to 400 pence sterling on a good day for air travel stocks.
Bank stocks rose 1.9 per cent. Lloyds Banking Group gained 3.7 per cent to 86.38p after London’s financial services regulator proposed a lower-than-feared redress package over motor finance mis-selling.
The sentiment propped up other lenders, with Barclays adding 1 per cent to 382.8p. HSBC also rose 1.5 per cent to 1066p after Morgan Stanley raised its price target on the stock. Merchant bank Close Brothers surged 5.4 per cent.
Precious metal miners outperformed peers after gold prices soared past $4,000 per ounce for the first time.
Endeavour Mining climbed 2.66 per cent to 3,244p while Fresnillo rose 3 per cent to 2,368p, placing the miners among the FTSE 100’s top performers.
Industrial metal miners added 1.7 per cent, tracking gains in copper prices.
Property stocks were the biggest drag on the market, sliding 1.9 per cent.
Student accommodation builder Unite Group dropped 10.8 per cent to 63.50p its lowest in more than five years, leaving it the biggest loser on the domestically focused FTSE 250.
The developer reported rental growth of 4 per cent at the end of the third quarter, compared with a 8.2 per cent growth a year ago.
Europe
Europe’s Stoxx 600 benchmark looked poised for another record close, as the basic resources sector jumped more than 1 per cent.
European stocks were also buoyed by moves to resolve France’s budget impasse.
BMW AG slumped, dragging peers lower, after the German luxury-car maker cut its financial guidance on weak sales in China and tariff-related costs.
Its shares were down 8.25 per cent at €80.26 shortly after 5pm Irish time. Rival Mercedes fell 2.9 per cent.
Steelmakers surged higher after the European Commission proposed slashing tariff-free steel import quotas by nearly half, sending shares of ArcelorMittal, Aperam, Thyssenkrupp and SSAB up between 4 per cent and 7 per cent.
US
Wall Street’s main indexes edged higher on Wednesday following a brief interruption in a steady rally, as investors awaited fresh clues on the interest-rate trajectory.
In the late afternoon, Irish time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 179.40 points, or 0.38 per cent, to 46,782.38, the S&P 500 gained 35.17 points, or 0.52 per cent, to 6,749.76 and the Nasdaq Composite climbed 174.57 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 22,962.94.
The S&P 500 tech sector rose 1.1 per cent with AI chip maker Nvidia gaining 1.8 per cent and Micron Technology up 5 per cent.
Industrials rose 0.9 per cent on the S&P 500. Caterpillar rose 3.7 per cent, while Boeing added 1.6 per cent. – Additional reporting: Reuters
