European shares pulled back from record highs on Friday, with technology shares tracking global sector weakness.
Dublin
The Dublin market closed lower on Friday, as gains in food and some property stocks were offset by a decline in banking shares and some index heavyweights.
Banking shares ended the week broadly lower, with AIB losing 0.76 per cent and Bank of Ireland dipping almost half a per cent to €17.68.
Food groups Kerry and Glanbia gained over the session, with the latter adding 0.6 per cent and Kerry ending the week at €81.25, a 0.74 per cent increase.
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Among construction stocks, insulation specialist Kingspan fell 3.15 per cent.
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Ryanair fell by less than 1 per cent, notching up a gain for the week of more than 6 per cent. Ferries group Irish Continental was also off the pace on Friday, losing 1.9 per cent to end the week down 1.6 per cent.
London
London’s FTSE indexes closed lower on Friday, weighed by declines in energy stocks and heavyweight banks.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 0.2 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.06 per cent.
Energy stocks weighed on the FTSE 100 index, with Shell and BP down over 0.9 per cent each, tracking a 2.3 per cent slide in crude prices as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz resumed.
Automobile stocks lost 3.9 per cent to lead sectoral declines, while chemical stocks lost 3 per cent.
On the flip side, precious metal miners rose 2.5 per cent as gold prices increased.
Among others, money transfer company Wise was up 9.6 per cent, after saying active customers rose 21 per cent to 18.9 million in fiscal 2026 and that it plans on starting a new share purchase programme.
The travel and leisure sector was hit due to the Middle East conflict. Heathrow Airport lowered its 2026 passenger forecast and warned that profit could shrink this year.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.7 per cent down, narrowly marking gains for the week.
Shares of Zalando slid 6.3 per cent after BaFin launched an investigation into the online fashion retailer’s 2025 financial statements, citing evidence that the company breached accounting regulations. The broader retail sector lost 1.6 per cent.
Chipmakers Infineon and STMicroelectronics slipped 4.5 per cent each. On the other hand, semiconductor equipment makers BE Semiconductor and ASML dropped 2.2 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
AI equipment maker Schneider Electric shed 1.3 per cent. Telecom companies Ericsson and Nokia were also down.
Among others, Volkswagen shares were up 3.9 per cent. A report said the company aims to slash up to 100,000 jobs over the next few years.
New York
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set for weekly losses on Friday, as high-flying chipmakers remained under pressure despite strong earnings from market darling Micron Technology.
The memory chipmaker slid 2.2 per cent after jumping more than 15 per cent in the previous session. Other chip stocks, including Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia, were also reeling.
Apple shares edged up 0.7 per cent after a 6.1 per cent slump in the last session, their biggest one-day drop in over a year, after it raised iPad and MacBook prices on Thursday to make up for soaring memory and storage chip costs.
At 17:35 Irish time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42.18 points, or 0.08 per cent, to 51,962.80, the S&P 500 gained 17.25 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 7,374.74 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 70.60 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 25,429.21. – Additional reporting: Reuters
