Global markets were mixed on Wednesday amid renewed hopes of a peace deal to end the war in the Middle East.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin was little changed at 12,858.3, avoiding a repeat of recent losing sessions. The banks were the standout performers on the day with AIB and Bank of Ireland climbing 1.3 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.
There was decent activity in PTSB after Tuesday’s takeover news but the stock closed unchanged on €2.88.
Budget airline Ryanair slipped 1.6 per cent to €25.52 even as oil prices stayed well below $100 a barrel on Wednesday after US president Donald Trump said talks to end a war with Iran could resume over the next two days.
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There were mixed fortunes among the homebuilders, as Glenveagh Properties finished up 0.5 per cent, while Cairn Homes dropped 0.9 per cent. Cavan-based insulation specialist Kingspan finished the day down 0.1 per cent.
London
The FTSE 100 fell as investors hoped for a resumption of peace talks between the US and Iran.
Ladbrokes owner Entain rose 4.9 per cent in advance of Thursday’s first quarter trading statement and following Tuesday’s update from 50 per cent owned US joint venture, BetMGM.
Housebuilder Barratt Redrow rallied 3.5 per cent, but remained 31 per cent lower year-to-date, as it reiterated full-year guidance for home completions and adjusted pretax profit. The Leicestershire-based housebuilder said it is being “more selective” on land purchases given the Middle East crisis and the likely impact on mortgage rates and build cost inflation.
Standard Life climbed 2.1 per cent as it struck a cash and shares deal to acquire Aegon Europe’s UK insurance and pensions operations.
On the FTSE 250, Rank soared 18 per cent after a positive trading update. The owner of Grosvenor Casino and Mecca Bingo said like-for-like net gaming revenue for the third quarter ended March grew 5 per cent.
Has the fuel protest shown that the loudest lobby generally gets what they want?
Europe
In European equities, the Cac-40 in Paris closed down 0.6 per cent, and the Dax 40 in Frankfurt rose 0.1 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.4 per cent.
Paris underperformed as shares in luxury goods manufacturers Kering and Hermes fell 9.3 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively after first quarter sales fell short of market expectations.
Euro zone bond yields were broadly steady as hopes grew that peace talks between the US and Iran would resume and traders weighed up the prospect of a resolution emerging for the Middle East conflict.
Bonds have been under pressure throughout much of the conflict that sent energy prices higher, sparking inflation concerns and prompting markets to sharply adjust their central bank interest rate expectations.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde on Tuesday said the central bank was not yet in a position to determine if the current oil-price-driven inflation shock is transitory or if it requires the bank to raise interest rates.
New York
The benchmark S&P 500 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq added to recent gains as investors turned their attention to a fresh batch of corporate earnings while taking stock of the latest developments in the Middle East.
Bank of America shares rose 1.9 per cent after the second-biggest US lender reported growth in first-quarter profit. Wall Street heavyweight Morgan Stanley climbed 4.4 per cent after it also reported a jump in quarterly profit. The S&P 500 financial index gained 0.6 per cent.
The S&P 500 information technology index rose 1.5 per cent, as a recent rally in software stocks continued. Quantum computing stocks such as Rigetti Computing, D-Wave Quantum and Arqit Quantum added 11.8 per cent, 15.9 per cent and 18.8 per cent, respectively.
Six of the 11 S&P 500 sector indices posted losses, with materials leading the declines with a 1.4 per cent drop.
Among other stock movers, Broadcom advanced 3.1 per cent after Meta extended its custom chips deal with the firm.
Snap rose nearly 8 per cent after it said it would lay off about 1,000 employees, while footwear maker Allbirds surged more than eightfold following its plan to pivot to AI infrastructure. (Additional reporting: Agencies)
