Iseq lags behind its peers as European mood rises on trade deal hopes

European shares climbed higher on Tuesday as positive German investor sentiment data and a slew of positive earnings lifted the mood, but Spanish stocks lagged after socialist and far-left parties joined forces to form a coalition.

In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes remained at record levels, spurred by gains in trade-sensitive technology stocks, after president Donald Trump reiterated that the US was close to signing a "phase one" trade deal with China.

DUBLIN

The Iseq in Dublin rose by 0.34 per cent on very thin trading volumes.

It was a poor day on the exchange for many building and housing-related stocks, after Hibernia Reit posted results and warned of softening sentiment.

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Other industry data this week from Daft also suggested that rental growth in the residential market is slowing.

Hibernia finished the session down 2 per cent to €1.40, Glenveagh Properties fell 2 per cent to 73 cents, while Cairn Homes fell 1.2 per cent to €1.14.

Insurance group FBD fell 0.7 per cent to €8.50, after a regulator from the Central Bank told an Oireachtas committee the bank would look at ways of banning home and motor policy dual pricing.

LONDON

Vodafone rose more than 3 per cent, touching its highest level in a year after it increased annual profit guidance, reflecting improving organic growth trends as difficult markets in Spain and Italy start to ease.

The world's biggest credit check firm, Experian, climbed 2.5 per cent after it upgraded its organic revenue growth target on the back of strong results in its main North American market, while industrial software company Aveva added 3.5 per cent after an upbeat earnings report.

Irish-based support services company DCC, however, slid 6.2 per cent after first-half profit dropped as volumes fell at its business, which sells transport fuels and commercial fuels.

Discounter B&M European Value Retail fell 6 per cent, after it said it was undertaking a review of its German unit to decide the future of the poorly performing business.

Premier Foods leapt 9 per cent after its first-half earnings got a boost from the relaunch of Mr Kipling cakes last year and strong sales of Nissin noodles.

EUROPE

The pan-European STOXX 600 index rose 0.4 per cent, trading just 2 per cent below its all-time highs hit in April 2015. The gains were led by telecoms stocks, which gained 1.4 per cent, boosted by the Vodafone results.

French mobile operator Iliad, an investor in Eir, jumped 20 per cent to the top of the STOXX 600, after announcing plans for a €1.4 billion share buyback guaranteed in full by founder Xavier Niel.

The German Infineon Technologies group gained 6 per cent despite forecasting slower growth in the year ahead as analysts said the outlook suggests a strong recovery in the second half of 2020.

Spanish stocks underperformed the broader market to slip 0.9 per cent after the Socialists and far-left Unidas Podemos reached a preliminary coalition deal to form a government.

State-controlled lender Bankia, whose privatisation Podemos was against, slipped 4.5 per cent after the coalition deal was announced.

NEW YORK

Heading into the afternoon, nine of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors were trading higher, with the technology sector and healthcare shares providing the biggest boost to the benchmark index.

Walt Disney Co rose 1.4 per cent as the company said demand for its much-anticipated streaming service, Disney+, was well above its expectations in a launch marred by complaints from users about glitches and connection problems. Shares of Netflix Inc were down 0.7 per cent.

Rockwell Automation jumped 12 per cent as the factory automation equipment maker beat fourth-quarter profit expectations and forecast 2020 earnings above estimates.

CBS Corp dropped 3.1 per cent after the media company missed quarterly revenue estimates. Shares of Viacom, which is merging with CBS, were also down 3 per cent. – Additional reporting: Reuters