Big stock indexes mostly mark time and Treasury yields rose on Thursday in advance of Friday’s key US jobs report, while defence company shares jumped amid US president Donald Trump’s plans for a $1.5 trillion (€1.3 trillion) military budget.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the day up 0.6 per cent as insulation specialist Kingspan recovered some of the ground it gave up on Wednesday.
The stock had fallen 1.8 per cent after the Cavan-based company abandoned plans to float its data centre infrastructure business. It regrouped on Thursday to claw back 0.6 per cent of the damage done.
It was a strong day for the financial names as AIB and Bank of Ireland both comfortably outperformed the index, climbing 2.1 per cent and 1.8 per cent respectively.
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The news was less positive for Ryanair, which gave up 0.8 per cent, although a trader noted the company has enjoyed a strong run of late. Staying with travel, Irish Ferries parent, Irish Continental Group, finished the day up 1.6 per cent.
Ireland’s record tax take makes light of Trump tariffs fear
Finally, there were mixed fortunes for the housebuilders as Glenveagh Properties climbed 0.7 per cent, while Cairn Homes was down 0.2 per cent at close of business.
London
The FTSE 100 was flat as it struggled for direction with gains in defence stocks and banks offset by disappointing trading updates from Shell, Tesco, and Associated British Foods.
The FTSE 250 index rose 0.1 per cent, while the AIM All-Share index closed up 0.4 per cent.
The UK’s biggest retailer, Tesco, fell 6.7 per cent, dragging peer J Sainsbury, which updates on trading on Friday, down 2.3 per cent, after third-quarter sales fell short of expectations.
Associated British Foods led the FTSE 100 fallers, plunging 14 per cent, after a profit warning. “We now expect group adjusted operating profit and adjusted earnings per share to be below last year,” said the London-based company in an unscheduled trading update.
But Marks & Spencer fared better, rising 5 per cent, as its festive trading update provided a mixed bag, with its food offering leading the charge, but a cyber attack hit, hurting its fashion, home and beauty division.
On the FTSE 250, Greggs slid 6.5 per cent as the bakery chain provided guidance for 2026 below the market consensus.
Britain’s largest defence company, BAE Systems, gained 5 per cent, hitting its highest since October. US strikes on Venezuela have intensified geopolitical concerns, lifting defence shares earlier this week.
Europe
On the Continent, the Cac 40 in Paris closed up 0.1 per cent while the Dax 40 ended little changed in Frankfurt. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.21 per cent, while MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.28 per cent.
Euro zone government bond yields edged up from one-month lows on Thursday, and yield curves steepened a touch, as this week’s rally on cooler-than-expected inflation data paused, partly due to higher oil prices and stronger producer price inflation.
Several large European countries have sold new bonds this week, with auctions on Thursday from Spain and France drawing robust demand.
Germany’s 10-year yield, which acts as a benchmark for the wider euro zone, was up 3 basis points at 2.84 per cent in afternoon trading, roughly where it had held for most of the day. It is still down over 6 basis points this week so far, as prices have risen.
New York
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell on Thursday as losses in heavyweight technology stocks weighed, while defence companies advanced after President Donald Trump called for a $1.5 trillion (€1.3 trillion) military budget.
Technology stocks lost more than 1.5 per cent, with Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Broadcom down between 1.1 per cent and 2.1 per cent. The sector was among the worst-performing for the day.
Alphabet’s shares were up 0.7 per cent after the Google-parent on Wednesday surpassed Apple in market capitalisation for the first time since 2019, becoming the second-largest US company. – Additional reporting: Agencies
