Global stocks rise as US technology shares extend gains

Stock indexes around the world rose on Tuesday as US technology shares extended recent gains while earnings news was mostly upbeat.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin was flat on the day, slightly underperforming relative to its European peers.

The tourism and hospitality sector suffered as Covid-19 case numbers remained stubbornly high. Dalata – the biggest hotel operator in the State – was down 4 per cent, albeit on low volume.

Airlines across Europe were also down, as EasyJet, Ryanair and Aer Lingus parent International Airlines Group shed 2 per cent, 2.2 per cent and 6 per cent respectively.

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In construction, building materials giant CRH was up 1.5 per cent. "That was a sectoral move," according to a trader. "A lot of the cement names rallied across Europe following recent concerns around supply chains."

Elsewhere, Ires Reit, the State's biggest landlord, saw its share price climb 2 per cent, while Paddy Power Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment ended the day up 70 basis points.

London

London’s top stocks traded up slightly flat as losses for the owner of British Airways were offset elsewhere on the exchange.

IAG, which is behind the flag carrier, was hit after proposals to hike airport charges at Heathrow were revealed. The company's shares dropped to the bottom of the FTSE 100, after losing 5.8 per cent of their value.

Fellow airlines Tui and EasyJet were among the biggest fallers on the smaller FTSE 250 index.

“Airlines are on the back foot once again today, with sharp losses for IAG, Tui and EasyJet dragging down the wider FTSE index,” said Joshua Mahony, a senior market analyst at IG.

Europe

Some positive earnings and defensive buying kept Europe’s main stock index in the black, helping offset losses in Sweden’s Ericsson and French consumer goods giant Danone after downbeat results.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.3 per cent, staying close to one-month highs. Utilities and industrials led gains, while German reinsurer Munich Re rose 2.6 per cent after doubling its profit in the third quarter.

Capping gains were food and beverage names after Danone warned of growing inflationary pressures next year, pulling France's CAC40 index 0.1 per cent lower. Danone, peers Nestlé and Unilever slipped between 1.3 per cent and 3 per cent.

Telecom stocks followed, down 0.8 per cent as Sweden's Ericsson and Tele2 fell 3.7 per cent and 4.3 per cent, respectively, after earnings. Ericsson announced plans to reduce its operations in China after suffering a big sales drop in one of its biggest markets.

The Stoxx 600 has gained almost 3 per cent so far in October after a 3.4 per cent drop in the previous month, as investors turned to riskier assets in expectation of a steady earnings season.

New York

US stock indexes rose as upbeat results from Johnson & Johnson and Travelers fired up risk appetite, after big banks kicked off the third-quarter reporting period on a positive note last week.

The benchmark S&P 500 index is now just 0.7 per cent away from a record high hit in early September, with investors hoping that a flow of better-than-expected earnings reports will push the market to new highs despite concerns about an eventual tightening of monetary policy.

Johnson & Johnson’s shares rose 3.1 per cent as it increased its 2021 adjusted profit forecast, while insurer Travelers Cos added 3 per cent after beating estimates for third-quarter profit.

Growth stocks, including Facebook, Apple, Alphabet and Microsoft, rose between 0.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent. Netflix fell 0.6 per cent ahead of its quarterly results later in the day.

Procter & Gamble fell 1.6 per cent, weighing on the S&P 500 consumer staples sector, as it warned that higher commodity and freight costs would take a bigger bite out of earnings.

Tesla rose 0.2 per cent ahead of its quarterly results on Wednesday, with investors watching for indications of its performance in China.

Drugmaker Merck & Co, which has already applied for US authorisation for its Covid-19 pill, rose 2.3 per cent after the news on Atea. Pfizer, due to report data on its antiviral as soon as this quarter, gained 1.8 per cent. – (Additional reporting: agencies)