Global shares rallied, and oil prices slipped as optimism about the possibility of another round of peace talks between the US and Iran boosted risk appetite.
Dublin
The Iseq index rose by almost 1.7 per cent, as Ryanair and two of the State’s three pillar banks advanced.
PTSB shares slid by more than 4.3 per cent to €2.88 per share after Austrian bank Bawag agreed to buy the State-owned lender for almost €1.62 billion.
Traders and analysts said the decline is partly down to concerns about the deal securing the necessary 75 per cent support at an extraordinary general meeting during the summer, even if Bawag executives said that this risk was “limited”.
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Meanwhile, AIB jumped 1.6 per cent to almost €9.74 per share, while Bank of Ireland advanced by 1.5 per cent to €16.83.
Among the index heavyweights, Ryanair jumped 1.4 per cent on falling global oil prices, along with its British and European rivals.
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Kingspan added 4.4 per cent to close at €78.65 and home builders Cairn Homes and Glenveagh also advanced.
London
British stocks rebounded, with the resources-heavy FTSE 100 index inching 0.2 per cent higher, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 advanced by 1.8 per cent.
Oil majors Shell and BP shed 2.7 per cent and 2.4 per cent as crude oil prices dropped below $100 a barrel.
Meanwhile, metal miners rose, tracking gold and silver prices, with Fresnillo up 4.7 per cent.
Airlines also jumped, with Aer Lingus owner IAG adding 3.1 per cent, while EasyJet surged by more than 5 per cent.
Among individual companies, Imperial Brands finished the session down 4.8 per cent, recovering somewhat from an 8 per cent plunge to near nine-month lows after the Davidoff cigarette maker said the impact of the Middle Eastern conflict could disrupt second-half performance.
Intertek jumped 12.8 per cent to a one-year high after the product testing and certifications group said it is considering splitting its business.
Europe
European shares rallied to their highest level in more than a month, with the blue-chip Stoxx 50 index adding 1.3 per cent and the pan-European Stoxx 600 up by almost 1 per cent.
Leading the gains on Tuesday were industrial and technology stocks.
Siemens advanced by 3.8 per cent, while chipmakers Infineon and ASML added 3.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
Banks also performed strongly, with Italian lender Intesa Sanpaolo ahead by 1.9 per cent and Dutch bank ING up 1.3 per cent.
Meanwhile, the personal and household goods inched 0.1 per cent lower, with LVMH marginally down after the luxury group said the Iran war shaved at least 1 per cent from group sales in the last quarter due to lower spending in the Gulf.
New York
US stocks extended gains, with the Nasdaq 100 on pace for its longest winning streak since 2021, buoyed by reports of another round of Middle East peace talks.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 rose 0.9 per cent, pointing to a 10th straight day of wins. The S&P 500 was 0.7 per cent higher after erasing its war-driven losses on Monday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6 per cent.
Traders are also focused on first-quarter earnings at a time when the war in the Middle East is weighing on the outlook for the economy.
JPMorgan Chase shares slipped despite a record quarterly trading revenue haul.
Wells Fargo dropped 5 per cent. Citigroup rose 1.9 per cent after reporting its highest quarterly return in five years on tangible common equity.
Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson, up by more than 1 per cent, reported first-quarter sales above Wall Street’s expectations and bumped up its outlook for the year, led by strong growth of new cancer medicines and a drug for treatment-resistant depression. – Additional reporting: Reuters
