Global shares were mixed on Wednesday as traders assessed the latest fragile truce between the US and Iran, while oil prices jumped again after the Islamic Republic seized two ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
DUBLIN
Euronext Dublin fell by just under 1 per cent on Wednesday, dragged down by declines in Ryanair shares.
The airline shed more than 2 per cent to close at €23.86 per share as a rise in global crude prices put travel stocks across Europe under pressure.
Meanwhile, Ireland’s pillar banks were mixed. PTSB added 0.4 per cent to finish the session at €2.91 per share. Bank of Ireland and AIB moved in the opposite direction, losing 1.4 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, to close at €16.66 and €9.63 per share.
READ MORE
Home builder Glenveagh Properties advanced to €2.03 per share, up 1.3 per cent, while its market peer, Cairn Homes, finished up 1.6 per cent at €2.24.
Among the larger caps, Kerry Group fell by more than 1 per cent and Kingpsan added 0.9 per cent.
LONDON
British shares were largely unchanged, with the mid-cap FTSE 250 flat on the session, and the benchmark FTSE 100 down by 0.2 per cent.
Surging crude prices lifted oil majors BP and Shell by 1.6 per cent each.
On the flipside, rising oil prices weighed on airline and travel stocks. Aer Lingus owner IAG slid by 3.4 per cent, while EasyJet dropped 2.8 per cent and Wizz Air fell by 1.6 per cent.
Miners Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Glencore and Anglo American gained more than per cent, tracking a rise in prices of precious and base metals.
Official data showed British consumer price inflation rose to 3.3 per cent in March from 3 per cent in February, underscoring the Iran war’s impact on price levels.
Still, consumer defensive stocks performed strongly with Tesco shares adding 1.2 per cent, while Penneys and Primark owner Associated British Foods advanced by more than 1 per cent.
EUROPE
European shares were down slightly on Wednesday as markets assessed US president Trump’s announcement of an indefinite ceasefire with Iran, while investors also digested a raft of regional corporate earnings reports.
The blue-chip Stoxx 50 and the pan-European Stoxx 600 finished down by 0.5 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively.
Banks and automakers registered among the biggest declines. Stellantis fell 1.1 per cent, Mercedes-Benz dropped 1.3 per cent, and BMW fell by 1.7 per cent.
Meanwhile, shares in European chip and electrical equipment makers rallied as investors piled into stocks set to benefit from the artificial intelligence investment boom, following upbeat earnings reports and an outsized surge in US peers.
German chipmakers and suppliers Aixtron, Infineon and Siltronic rose between 2.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent, while ASML, STMicroelectronics and BESI gained between 1.5 per cent and 2.3 per cent.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indexes climbed on Wednesday, even as uncertainty remained over whether Tehran and US ally Israel would honour the truce announced by the White House.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.9 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.3 per cent.
Information technology stocks added 1.6 per cent and were the biggest boost to the S&P 500. Energy stocks also rose 0.8 per cent.
The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index hit a fresh peak and was on track for its 16th straight day of gains – its longest streak ever.
Micron Technology shares jumped 5.6 per cent, while Seagate rose 2.5 per cent after Barclays upgraded the data storage firm’s rating to “overweight”.
Shares of plane maker Boeing rose 3.1 per cent after a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, and were among the biggest boosts on the Dow.
United Airlines, however, declined 6.4 per cent after forecasting second-quarter and full-year profits below Wall Street estimates as higher jet fuel prices squeeze margins and cloud its near-term outlook. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
