Global stocks continue to ride Wall Street rally

Global stocks rose on Monday, still riding the wave of a record-breaking rally on Wall Street that began last week.

Euronext Dublin generally kept pace with European peers, with little on the downside for individual stocks on the day.

DUBLIN

Euronext Dublin finished up 0.58 per cent on Monday, to close at 8,896.63.

It was a day of gains for the country’s main banks, as AIB rose by 1.87 per cent to €3.92, while Bank of Ireland was up 1.16 per cent to €8.22, and Permanent TSB rose by 0.61 per cent to close at €1.64.

What’s the right mortgage protection for you?

---

The ability of research to affect policy can be a waiting game

---

Jacobs’ man putting the building blocks in place for the economy

---

‘Ireland is good in a crisis but can’t manage success’, says crisis era mandarin

---

The country’s two listed home builders also rose on the day, with Cairn Homes gaining 0.97 per cent to €1.45, and Glenveagh Properties up 0.99 per cent to close at €1.23.

Meanwhile, building materials company Kingspan rose slightly, by 0.03 per cent, to €72.92.

Paddy Power parent company Flutter Entertainment remained flat on Monday, closing at a share price of €182.75. Ryanair also gained, rising by 1.36 per cent to €18.21.

Is the restriction on passenger numbers at Dublin Airport doing untold damage to our economy?

Listen | 39:09

Food company Kerry Group rose by 1.43 per cent to €79.50, while peer Glanbia fell by 1.58 per cent to €15.54.

The few downward movers on the day also included packaging company Smurfit Kappa, which fell by 1 per cent to €33.72.

LONDON

UK stocks climbed on Monday, as a record-setting rally on Wall Street helped outweigh concerns about a slowing British economy and sticky inflation.

The export-heavy FTSE 100 Index gained 0.35 per cent, to close at 7,487.71. Meanwhile, the more domestically focused FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index rose by 1.08 per cent, to 19,075.64.

Both the UK indexes marked their third consecutive weekly declines on Friday after a stronger-than-expected inflation reading and slump in December retail sales. Flash PMI activity data on Wednesday will give a further sense of the state of the British economy.

Barclays climbed 2.77 per cent after Morgan Stanley said it expects the British lender to give a three-year guidance with increased clarity on distributions policy when it releases its full-year results next month.

S4 Capital was down 7.27 per cent as Martin Sorrell’s digital advertising group gave a downbeat forecast for the year ahead.

Compass Group edged down 0.23 per cent after the catering firm said it had agreed to buy rival CH&CO for an initial enterprise value of £475 million (€555 million).

EUROPE

A rise in European shares on Monday also tracked the Wall Street rally, while investors awaited a European Central Bank’s interest rate policy decision due later this week.

The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose by 0.77 per cent, to 472.86, while the German DAX Index also gained 0.77 per cent to 16,683.36, and the French CAC 40 Index closed at 7,413.25 after gaining 0.56 per cent.

Shares in Swedish online gambling firm Kindred jumped 16.6 per cent after it announced it had received a $2.7 billion (€2.48 billion) takeover bid from French lottery and gaming giant La Francaise des Jeux.

Belimo was down 7.75 per cent after the Swiss heating and ventilation solutions maker’s 2023 revenues missed market estimates.

NEW YORK

Wall Street continued to feed on momentum that took it to a new record high last week, as all three of its main indices gained on Monday.

The S&P 500 Index scaled a fresh record high, after closing at a record on Friday, extending a bull-market run into a new week on a boost from megacap and chip stocks.

Megacaps such as Alphabet, Meta Platforms and Apple saw gains, while advances for chipmakers such as Nvidia and Micron Technology took the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index to a new all-time high.

US investors await a fourth-quarter GDP report on Thursday which could offer clues on the timing of the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut.

Big-ticket earnings due this week from Netflix, Tesla, Abbott Laboratories, Intel and Johnson & Johnson, among others, will also be watched for insights into US corporate health.

Renewable energy firm SolarEdge gained on plans to lay off about 16 per cent of its global workforce.

Archer-Daniels-Midland slumped after placing its chief financial officer Vikram Luthar on administrative leave for an investigation and cutting its full-year profit forecast.

— Additional reporting: Reuters.

• Sign up for Business push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
• Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
• Our Inside Business podcast is published weekly – Find the latest episode here