Global stocks rose on Thursday as strong earnings from chipmakers lifted sentiment.
Meanwhile, oil prices edged higher but remained near levels last seen before the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran. Brent crude futures were up 1 per cent to $74.49 (€65.48) a barrel.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin was up 0.8 per cent with nearly all stocks finishing the day in the green.
AIB and Bank of Ireland recovered some of the ground lost on Wednesday as they climbed 1.5 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively.
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Kenmare Resources was also on the comeback trail, albeit on light volumes, finishing up 6.7 per cent to recoup nearly all the ground it lost on Wednesday after slipping on news that it had secured an additional $30 million (€26.4 million) loan facility from its African lenders.
Agri-business Origin Enterprises also enjoyed a good day, climbing 3.7 per cent. “Fertiliser prices went way up due to the war, but they have come right back down now,” a trader said.
Meanwhile, Ires Reit – the State’s largest private landlord – was up 1.8 per cent at close of business, while builders Cairn Homes and Glenveagh Properties climbed 2 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
The airline sector continued its recent good run as oil prices have fallen, with Ryanair up 1.2 per cent to €27.40.
London
The FTSE 100 closed up 0.7 per cent amid an improving outlook for inflation following this week’s drop in oil prices. The FTSE 250 ended up 0.3 per cent, but the Aim All-Share fell 0.7 per cent.
Financials led sectoral gains, up 3.1 per cent, with private-equity group 3i Group adding 11.5 per cent after its retail brand Action reported a 3.3 per cent rise in like-for-like sales for the 25 weeks ended June 21st.
Greeting card retailer Moonpig rose 2.5 per cent after announcing upbeat annual pretax profits, as customers traded up to higher-priced gifts.
British budget carrier EasyJet rose 6.4 per cent after rejecting a fourth takeover proposal from US-based investment firm Castlelake, but said it would grant the suitor limited access to commercial information in hopes of drawing a higher bid.
Europe
Euro-zone bond yields held around their lowest levels in more than three months after oil prices erased all their gains from the Iran war.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the bloc, was little changed at 2.8581 per cent. Bond yields have fallen around the world along with oil prices after the US and Iran reached a preliminary deal earlier this month to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In European equity markets, the Cac 40 in Paris ended up 0.6 per cent, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt advanced 1 per cent. The broad Stoxx 600 rose 0.92 per cent, while MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.42 per cent.
Bayer soared 19 per cent after the US supreme court overturned a lower-court ruling that exposed the company to thousands of claims that the Monsanto weedkiller Roundup causes cancer.
New York
The Nasdaq dropped on Thursday, dragged down by losses in Big Tech shares, while a shift into other sectors lifted the S&P 500 and the Dow.
Technology shares reversed early gains to move lower, weighing on the Nasdaq, as worries over spending and expectations of higher interest rates outweighed upbeat signals from Micron and Qualcomm on AI demand.
Apple slid nearly 5 per cent after hiking prices for iPads and MacBooks to counter surging memory and storage chip costs. Shares of Nvidia, Microsoft and Alphabet were also down between 1.2 per cent and 2.7 per cent.
Micron soared 14 per cent, while Qualcomm surged more than 7 per cent after announcing plans to expand into data centres. Other memory chips also moved higher with SanDisk soaring 16.3 per cent, while Western Digital and Seagate Technology rose 6.3 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively.
Caterpillar and Goldman Sachs, which were up 4 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively, aided the blue-chip Dow to an intraday high. – Additional reporting: agencies
