European shares slipped on Friday in broad-based losses, as a flare-up in the Middle East conflict hit risk sentiment at the end of a week dominated by geopolitics.
Global risk sentiment was fragile after the US and Iran exchanged fire in the Middle East, even as US president Donald Trump played down the hostilities. Oil prices rose back above $100 a barrel.
Also weighing on sentiment was Trump’s warning that the European Union would face “much higher” tariffs if trade commitments were not met by July 4th.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All Share index ended Friday down 1.7 per cent at 12,721, dragged lower by weaker banking and construction stocks.
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AIB fell 1.65 per cent to €9.65, while Bank of Ireland was down almost 1 per cent by the close of the session.
Insulation specialist Kingspan saw its shares decline 1.5 per cent, while home builder Glenveagh was down 0.7 per cent. Cairn Homes was little changed.
Ryanair declined 3.65 per cent, mirroring wider moves in the travel sector in Europe. Fears about the impact of the war between the US and Iran have weighed on airline stocks in recent weeks, with concerns about the rising cost of jet fuel worrying investors.
On the positive side of the market, Irish Continental Group rose 1.5 per cent. Insurer FBD was up marginally, gaining 0.3 per cent over the day.
LONDON
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.4 per cent lower at 10,233.07 points, marking a third straight weekly fall. The midcap FTSE 250 inched 0.2 per cent lower.
Aer Lingus owner IAG fell 2.8 per cent after warning its annual profit would be lower than forecast and flagged that jet fuel costs would be about €2 billion higher in 2026 than in 2025 due to the conflict.
Intertek shed 2.7 per cent after rejecting a third takeover proposal from Swedish private equity firm EQT AB.
EUROPE
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed down 0.7 per cent at 612.14 points, though it posted a second straight weekly gain, albeit small. Major regional markets followed suit, with Germany’s DAX falling 1.3 per cent to lead declines.
Rheinmetall tumbled 9.2 per cent after JPMorgan downgraded the defence group to “neutral” from “overweight”. Its results this week showed first-quarter revenue below analysts’ expectations. The defence sector declined 3.6 per cent.
Commerzbank said it plans to cut 3,000 jobs as it targets higher profits while fending off a takeover by Italy’s UniCredit. The stocks closed down 3.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
Amadeus rose 1.9 per cent after the Spanish travel technology company reported quarterly core earnings above market expectations and maintained its guidance.
NEW YORK
The S&P 500 added 0.8 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite jumped 1.4 per cent in trade on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average little changed. Chipmakers recovered, including Qualcomm, up about 10 per cent, while Nvidia was 2.3 per cent higher.
US employment increased more than expected in April while the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3 per cent, pointing to labour market resilience and reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve would leave interest rates unchanged for some time.
A US trade court ruled President Donald Trump’s latest 10 per cent temporary global duties are unjustified under a 1970s trade law. But analysts expect a swift appeal and little overall impact on US levies.
Bitcoin was drifting towards a sixth weekly gain in a row at $79,679. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
