A rebound in tech stocks propelled US share indices higher but global shares were little changed on the first trading day of a holiday-shortened week as traders navigated lighter volumes.
DUBLIN
The Iseq index slid by almost 0.3 per cent amid low trading volumes.
Banks pared last week’s gains somewhat, with AIB down by 0.6 per cent to €9.23 per share, and Bank of Ireland down by 0.3 per cent to €16.39.
PTSB closed at €2.88, down 0.7 per cent. The Irish Times reported on Monday that the bank and its advisers are on track to call on parties to submit firm expressions of interest by the end of January. The Irish bank put itself up for sale in October.
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PTSB’s shares have fallen back 9 per cent in the past month as investors tempered early optimism about the prospects of a deal in early 2026 but the process is understood to have attracted solid initial interest, including private equity and banking industry players.
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It was a mixed session for the other index heavyweights, with Kerry Group down 0.5 per cent to €76.80 per share and Kingspan closing at €74.60, up 0.2 per cent.
LONDON
UK shares dipped as the latest data confirmed Britain’s economy grew at a sluggish pace last quarter.
The benchmark FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 was essentially flat.
Among sectors, consumer staples lagged. Beverage stocks led losses, down 2.6 per cent, with Coca-Cola UK falling 2.1 per cent. The personal care, drug and grocery sub-index was down 1 per cent, with Ocado Group sliding 3.7 per cent and Tesco down 0.7 per cent.
Gold miners kept losses in check as Rio Tinto, Glencore, Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo benefited from gold surging above $4,400 (€3,744.69) an ounce for the first time.
Oil majors Shell and BP also benefited from a jump in crude prices, adding 0.2 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively.
Among individual stocks, AstraZeneca was down 0.6 per cent after a late-stage trial testing its blockbuster therapy Imfinzi in combination with its experimental drug Ceralasertib failed to improve the overall survival of patients with advanced lung cancer.
EUROPE
European shares traded slightly lower on Monday as technology and commodity stocks offset declines elsewhere, while investors opened the short week on a tepid note after Friday’s record close.
The blue-chip Stoxx 50 index was down by 0.2 per cent, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index was largely unchanged.
Tech advanced 0.5 per cent, rebounding after closing the previous week with a 0.9 per cent decline. German chipmaker Infineon was the biggest gainer, advancing 2.4 per cent.
Energy stocks jumped in line with climbing commodities prices, with France’s TotalEnergies up 0.3 per cent.
Banks, which played an outsize role in last week’s rally, were mixed, with Spain’s BBVA up 0.1 per cent, while Dutch lender ING was little changed.
NEW YORK
US equities advanced at Monday’s open with strategists expecting a year-end rally to take hold amid bullish positioning into tech stocks.
The S&P 500 Index opened 0.4 higher on Monday, led by the tech sector, and the US benchmark is now headed for its third-straight session of gains. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 and blue chip Dow Jones Industrial Average both rose 0.4 per cent.
Netflix and its pursuit of Warner Bros Discovery was in focus after it refinanced part of a $59 billion bridge loan, while billionaire Larry Ellison said he would guarantee $40.4 billion for Paramount’s bid. Shares in the streaming giant dipped 0.7 per cent, while Paramount jumped 4.9 per cent.
Micron rose 2 per cent, while other chipmakers also gained, with the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index up 1.1 per cent.
Nvidia has told Chinese clients it aims to start shipping its second-most powerful AI chips to China before the Lunar New Year holiday in mid-February, Reuters reported. The chipmaker was last up 1.2 per cent.
Tesla jumped 2.7 per cent to an all-time high after chief executive Elon Musk’s 2018 pay package was restored by the Delaware Supreme Court. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters
