London’s FTSE 100 hit a record high on Wednesday, driven by a surge in oil stocks following renewed conflict in the Middle East.
On Wednesday, energy stocks jumped 2.9 per cent as oil prices rose nearly 7 per cent following the resumption of major air strikes in the Middle East, which have dashed hopes for an imminent end to the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The record in London came as investors awaited interest rate decisions from the Bank of England on Thursday, when it is widely expected to hold rates.
Dublin
During an active day for company results in Dublin, the Iseq All-Share Index fell by 1.4 per cent to close at 13,560.72.
READ MORE
Kerry Group’s shares initially jumped by 4 per cent after it slightly raised its full-year sales forecast, but fell back 1.6 per cent to €84.30 compared to the previous closing price by the end of the day.
Earlier on Wednesday, PTSB also reported results that showed its underlying pretax profit rose 34 per cent to €68 million in the first half of the year.
Shares at the Eamonn Crowley-led bank slipped marginally by 0.7 per cent to €2.98 following the update.
Driving losses on the Iseq during the day was healthcare services group Uniphar, which recorded a 4.93 per cent fall in its share price to €4.24. The losses came a day after it reported earnings “in line with the group’s expectations” in the first half of the year.
Shares also slumped at 2.46 per cent at housebuilder Glenveagh Properties, while Greencoat Renewable’s price dropped 2.26 per cent in the day to €0.78.
London
The UK’s FTSE 100 closed at 10,908.41 on Wednesday, up 0.3 per cent, which marked an intraday record high.
The result came ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate announcement due on Thursday. The regulator is widely tipped to keep interest rates steady.
In a busy earnings day, Standard Chartered climbed 2.8 per cent after the bank posted a forecast-beating first-half profit and lifted its full-year income target.
Glencore climbed 2.8 per cent after the miner reported a 15 per cent increase in first-half copper production, while Rio Tinto gained 1.6 per cent after reporting a 43 per cent jump in half-year underlying earnings.
Food group Greggs rallied 18.5 per cent to the top of the midcap index after Britain’s biggest fast-food chain reported a 20 per cent rise in first-half profit.
Meanwhile Aberdeen Group recorded a 4.5 per cent fall, making it the worst performer in the blue-chip index, after the asset manager reported first-half net outflows of £3 billion (€3.5 billion).
Europe
European stocks declined on Wednesday, down 0.3 per cent to 645.01 points at close, which bucked a near-weeklong trend of marginal gains.
French luxury groups weighed on the broader sector, but the continent’s biggest lenders continued to post strong results.
Second-quarter earnings published by Deutsche Bank and UBS showed the financial firms beat forecasts again, buoyed by a surge in trading activity and strong retail business.
European banks have enjoyed a remarkable resurgence in the past two-and-a-half-years after more than a decade of rock-bottom interest rates and concerns about euro zone government debt, which soured investor sentiment towards their stocks.
The sector is now one of the best performing in Europe, with the Stoxx Europe Banks index at its highest since late 2007 and up 143 per cent since early 2024, as higher rates boost interest income and loan demand swells despite continued weakness of the region’s economy.
New York
In early-afternoon trading, stocks in New York were weaker with fresh falls in technology stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.5 per cent, the S&P 500 index was 0.8 per cent lower and the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.1 per cent.
On Wednesday, Wall Street traders who were gearing up for the Federal Reserve decision sent stocks lower as oil jumped, with the market also bracing for results from two of the biggest artificial-intelligence (AI) spenders.
A resurgence in Middle East violence drove Brent crude above $90 (€79), which stoked concerns about inflation and dimming the appetite for riskier assets.
Another rout in chipmakers was behind the decline to the S&P 500. Upcoming earnings from Microsoft and Facebook-owner Meta are expected to test investors’ diminishing patience for massive AI investments. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Press Association and Bloomberg
