European shares ended the session in negative territory on Friday, reversing earlier gains that saw the pan-European Stoxx 600 index hit a record high as investors digested a week filled with earnings reports, central bank decisions and Middle East hostilities.
Sentiment was dented late in the session by choppiness on Wall Street and as Brent crude prices climbed above $90 (€78.16) a barrel. The Stoxx 600 closed down 0.1 per cent at 649.19, having reached as high as 656.67 in morning trading.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index fell 0.9 per cent to 13,535.33.
Ryanair fell 3.4 per cent to €24.26, as sector followers digested interim results from Aer Lingus parent, International Airlines Group (IAG) and a fresh spike in oil prices. IAG reported a 16 per cent drop in second-quarter profit hit by soaring fuel costs and weaker travel demand linked to the Middle East conflict.
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Bank of Ireland rose 0.3 per cent to €18.09 after the lender reported better-than-expected profits – though some of this was down to on-off gain valuation adjustments on certain investments and financial instruments held by the bank – and increased its full-year financial targets. AIB, which reported results on Thursday, dipped 0.6 per cent to €10.26.
Kingspan advanced 2.1 per cent to €80.25 after French peer Saint-Gobain reported first-half results that came in ahead of market expectations.
LONDON
London’s FTSE 100 dipped from record highs on Friday to close 0.3 per cent lower but registered weekly and monthly gains as robust earnings buoyed markets through a week of central bank decisions and Middle East hostilities.
NatWest gained 3.2 per cent after the lender reported a better-than-expected first-half operating profit before tax of £4.3 billion (€5.03 billion) and raised its outlook for the year.
IG Group slipped 1.5 per cent to the bottom of the FTSE 100 after it agreed to acquire US daily fantasy sports and prediction markets operator, Underdog for up to $1.3 billion.
Sainsbury’s inched up 1 per cent after the supermarket chain agreed to sell Argos for at least £120 million, exiting the general retail business.
EUROPE
Novo Nordisk’s shares slumped more than 7 per cent after its experimental drug failed to reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes in a large study, a blow to the drugmaker’s growth prospects beyond obesity and diabetes.
In earnings-related moves, Universal Music Group was also a big drag on the European benchmark index. Its shares plummeted more than 19.5 per cent to their lowest level since listing after the company reported disappointing subscription revenue growth.
European shares have pulled further ahead of their US peers as investors sought alternatives to richly valued AI-linked stocks and welcomed another solid earnings season. The region’s benchmark is up 11 per cent so far this year, compared with an 8 per cent advance for the S&P 500 index.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main stock indices were struggling to find clear direction, having dipped in and out of negative territory, as uncertainty over the path for interest rates and a slide in Apple’s shares offset a jump by Amazon.
Amazon.com reported its biggest revenue growth in over four years for the previous quarter, joining similar reports from Microsoft and Alphabet earlier this month. That prompted investors to look past the companies’ big spending plans that rattled markets through this month.
Apple, on the other hand, slid after warning that supply constraints would hurt growth, adding to worries about the hit from iPhone price hikes.
Shares of Microsoft were up after logging their biggest one-day gain on record for a company in the previous session, while Alphabet and Meta also advanced.
The Philadelphia Semiconductor index was flat on Friday and is down 20 per cent in July, which would mark its biggest monthly fall since 2008. Investors instead took notice of other sectors, as the S&P 500 equally weighted index is on track for its fourth straight month of gains. – Additional reporting, Reuters, Bloomberg
