Iseq lags as rising oil keeps European indices afloat

European shares rose as a surge in oil helped offset sliding banks, while investors speculated on the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting.

The Iseq in Dublin lagged its continental peers, however, as poor performances from Aryzta and Bank of Ireland dragged it almost 1 per cent into the red.

DUBLIN

Volumes on the Iseq were high , traders said. Most of food company

Aryzta

’s trading takes place in Switzerland, but the Irish-run company also lost almost 11 per cent in Dublin after chief executive

Owen Killian

sold €16 million worth of its shares.

Bank of Ireland was particularly volatile on a bad day for the financial sector across Europe. Its fall of almost 5 per cent, however, outweighed the falls in bank stocks in the core states of Europe.

Irish Continental Group was up 4.5 per cent, a week ahead of stellar financial results. Its shares disappointed last week, however. Traders speculated that an aggressive seller had been active in the market, but had since cleared out.

Green Reit also traded at higher volumes than usual and finished up nearly 1 per cent.

LONDON

The oil and gas sector extended its gains, rising 2.8 per cent overall as shares in

Royal Dutch Shell

and

BP

rallied 2.8 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively, helped by a rise in oil prices.

Legal and General Group led insurers higher, rising 2.5 per cent after an industry levy was raised less than expected in the budget.

Housebuilders also rose, with traders citing government plans to encourage building of new homes on brownfield land, as well as relief that there were no additional taxes for the sector. Barratt Developments, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon all gained between 2.6 and 3.4 per cent.

Investors were also relieved that no new taxes were planned for the gambling sector, boosting shares in Ladbrokes and William Hill. However, mid- cap company Tate & Lyle, which produces sweeteners, slipped 1 per cent and soft drinks companies Britvic and AG BARR fell 1.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively after chancellor George Osborne said Britain would introduce a new sugar levy on soft drinks.

EUROPE

Banks fell the most on the European benchmarks.

Credit Suisse Group

lost 4.1 per cent, with some traders citing the absence of chief financial officer

David Mathers

from a conference in London as a reason.

Deutsche Bank lost 4.3 per cent after it said it may post a loss for the year as it overhauls its business.

Solvay advanced 1.3 per cent after the chemical maker said it would divest its stake in a joint venture with Ineos earlier than planned. Brenntag jumped 7.6 per cent after reporting 2015 profit that exceeded the average analyst projection. Bilfinger tumbled 8.5 per cent after the German industrial company said it would not pay a 2015 dividend after losses widened.

French company Zodiac Aerospace fell 4 per cent after the maker of aircraft parts said annual profit probably would not rise.

NEW YORK

Heading into the afternoon, five of the 10 major S&P sectors were higher. Gains in energy and financials were offset by losses in utilities and consumer staples sectors. The S&P energy sector was up 0.33 per cent as crude rose more than 3 per cent, after major producers agreed to meet next month to discuss freezing output.

Oracle was up 3.9 per cent after the enterprise software company's quarterly profit beat estimates. LinkedIn was down 4.8 per cent and Gap fell 2.9 per cent after Morgan Stanley downgraded both stocks.

Fossil was down 6.5 per cent after Macquarie cut its rating on the stock to "underperform". Mallinckrodt was down 11.7 per cent, continuing its slide, while Endo International recouped some of its losses from Tuesday, up 6.9 per cent. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg/Reuters)