Global shares were mixed on Wednesday as investors weighed the prospect of spiralling conflict in Iran and a more prolonged blockage of the Strait of Hormuz against upbeat earnings reports from US banks.
DUBLIN
Irish shares advanced, with the ISEQ index adding 0.8 per cent as listed home builders came to the fore.
Glenveagh Properties advanced by 1.9 per cent to €2.43 per share, while Cairn Homes added 2.3 per cent to close at almost €2.47. On Wednesday, the Central Statistics Office’s latest residential property price index revealed that Irish home prices continued to rise in May, albeit at their slowest pace since early 2024.
Ryanair, meanwhile, rose by more than 2 per cent to €26.91 per share. Banks also advanced, with Bank of Ireland ahead by 0.2 per cent to €17.80, while AIB advanced by 0.5 per cent to €10.15.
READ MORE
Other index heavyweights such as Kingspan and Kerry Group also moved higher.
LONDON
British shares edged slightly lower as investors remained cautious over rising tensions in the Middle East. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down by almost 0.2 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was flat.
Precious metals miners declined, tracking a fall in global metals prices, making them the worst-performing sector. Fresnillo and Antofagasta fell by 3 per cent and 2.6 per cent, respectively, while Glencore slid by 2.4 per cent.
Energy stocks whipsawed, with Shell and BP falling by between 0.6 per cent and 1.7 per cent after rising earlier in the session. The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, hovered around $85 a barrel, up 0.7 per cent.
Among individual stocks, Watches of Switzerland advanced by 2.8 per cent after UBS and Barclays upgraded their target price for the shares.
EUROPE
European shares were mixed, with the blue-chip Stoxx 50 and the cross-Continental Stoxx 600 index little changed at the closing bell.
Technology stocks initially surged but then pared gains after ASML delivered a strong earnings report. The Dutch chipmaker finished the session down by 0.4 per cent, but was up by nearly 4 per cent earlier in the session, amid renewed optimism about artificial intelligence-related demand for chips.
Luxury stocks, the worst-performing index this year, added 2.9 per cent. Richemont surged 6.8 per cent after reporting better-than-expected results for its first quarter, helped by booming demand for its jewellery in Asia and the Americas.
NEW YORK
Another report showing softer-than-anticipated inflation drove stocks and bonds higher as Wall Street further dialled back wagers on Federal Reserve interest-rate increases this year.
The S&P 500 was up by 0.3 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 per cent and the Nasdaq 100 was little changed.
Strong results from big banks for a second straight day helped sustain an upbeat tone for the second-quarter earnings season. The S&P 500 financial sector gained 0.6 per cent.
BlackRock shares advanced 7.1 per cent, after the asset manager beat profit expectations, while Morgan Stanley also beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit. Its shares were up 0.6 per cent.
Shares in PayPal surged by almost 14 per cent after sources told Reuters that Collison brothers-led payments company Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have jointly offered to acquire it for $60.50 (€52.89) per share, representing around a 28 per cent premium to its Tuesday close.
Data on Wednesday showed the Producer Price Index for final demand unexpectedly fell 0.3 per cent in June, compared with forecasts for a flat reading, adding to signs that inflation was easing before the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict.
The report followed Tuesday’s softer-than-expected consumer inflation data, which tempered expectations for an imminent Federal Reserve rate hike.
– Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters
