There was a renewed spike in oil prices and global stocks fell on Thursday as Israel launched fresh strikes on Iran.
Dublin
At home, Euronext Dublin finished the day down 1.6 per cent as the turmoil in the Middle East continued to spook investors.
The banks were a drag on the index with AIB and Bank of Ireland down just over 1 per cent apiece. PTSB, by the far the smallest of the three, climbed 1 per cent after it proposed its first dividend since 2008, even though underlying pretax profits dipped almost 3 per cent.
Energy group Greencoat Renewables was the standout performer as it climbed 6.7 per cent after announcing the launch of a new green digital infrastructure platform to take advantage of the opportunity of renewable-powered data centres.
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The company also posted full year results which showed revenue fell by 17 per cent to €296 million in the 12 months to the end of December, while earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation for the year decreased 24 per cent to €158 million.
Budget airline Ryanair suffered a nearly 4 per cent dip in its share price as the Middle East crisis continued to push up oil prices.
Most of the airline’s peers in the transport sector suffered similar fates, but Irish Ferries parent Irish Continental bucked the trend to finish the day up 1.9 per cent after it said revenue rose more than 10 per cent last year.
London
The FTSE 100 gave up early advances to close 1.5 per cent lower, while the FTSE 250 closed down 0.9 per cent, and the Aim All-Share dropped 0.8 per cent.
Brent oil traded higher at $84.41 a barrel on Thursday afternoon, up from $80.75 at same time on Wednesday.
Travel firms suffered once more. Wizz Air fell 11 per cent after warning late on Wednesday that ongoing disruption in the Middle East is expected to reduce its financial 2026 net profit by around €50 million, pushing earnings below its previous guidance.
British Airways owner IAG fell 3.6 per cent and budget airline EasyJet dipped 5 per cent.
Rentokil Initial was the big winner on the FTSE 100, up 11 per cent, as it reported better-than-expected growth in its key North American business.
Europe
European shares fell after a sharp rebound in the previous session, as more tankers came under attack in the Middle East, threatening higher oil prices and a knock-on effect on the global economy.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 1.3 per cent lower, reversing an earlier gain of as much as 0.6 per cent. The index recorded its strongest session in more than three months on Wednesday.
Export-heavy industrial stocks were the biggest drag on the index, down 2.4 per cent. Siemens Energy fell about 6 per cent, while defence stocks Rolls-Royce and Rheinmetall fell more than 5 per cent each.
The broader aerospace and defence index was down 4.2 per cent, in its steepest one-day decline since April.
Meanwhile, the Cac 40 in Paris closed down 1.5 per cent, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt declined 1.6 per cent.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes fell as the Middle East conflict raised concerns of fresh inflation pressures that could complicate the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decisions.
Helping limit the losses was a strong forecast from Broadcom that projected its artificial intelligence chip revenue would exceed $100 billion next year, sending shares of the chip designer up 5.3 per cent.
Losses were broad, with healthcare, materials, consumer staples and industrials falling over 2 per cent each. On the other hand, energy gained 0.7 per cent, with APA up 4 per cent.
Declines in financials such as JPMorgan Chase and Goldman Sachs also weighed on the blue-chip Dow.
On the flip side, booking stocks such as Booking Holdings and Expedia shot up 10 per cent and 7 per cent to the top of the S&P 500. (Additional reporting: Agencies)
