Little change on markets after Bernanke decision

European stocks were little changed at the close of trading today, after the positive momentum of the morning was offset by weakness in the afternoon.

Stocks gained in early trading after the European Central Bank allotted more funds than projected under its long-term refinancing operation. However, the failure of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to signal the advent of further monetary easing in his testimony to Congress resulted in the erasure of those early gains.

Buoyed by the strong performance of major stock CRH, the Iseq index outperformed the major indices in London, Frankfurt and Paris, bucking the negative trend by closing up 0.85 per cent.

The Iseq heavyweight, which closed up 1.6 per cent at €16.04, was not the only decent performer on the index, however. Food group Glanbia published full-year results that were ahead of expectations, helping its stock to “a stellar performance” on the market, according to one Dublin dealer. The stock closed up 5.3 per cent at €5.60.

There was some buying interest in paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa towards the end of the day, which pushed it up to a closing price €7.65, up 2.7 per cent. Drinks group C&C was also strong at the finish, closing at €3.67, up 1.5 per cent on the day.

In London, the blue-chip FTSE 100 index finished down almost 1 per cent, as bearish sentiment following Bernanke’s damp-squib of a statement led to a late sell-off. The stock closed well off its intra-day high of 5,955.75, as mining stocks, whose share prices are closely allied to the fortunes of the global economy, took a pounding. Media group ITV was the top climber, with the stock jumping 6.8 per cent - the most in a year - after the broadcaster’s full-year earnings easily beat expectations, helped by growth in its own productions.

However, British Sky Broadcasting Group Plc lost 2.3 per cent to 670 pence after its chairman James Murdoch stepped down as executive chairman of News Corp’s UK publishing News International unit.

British Airways owner IAG’s shares climbed 0.6 per cent after it reported a rise in full-year profit, helped by higher-than-expected savings from the BA-Iberia merger, but warned cost pressures would hit profit in 2012.

Across Europe, national benchmark indexes declined in 10 of the 18 western-European markets, with Germany’s DAX falling 0.5 per cent and France’s CAC little changed.

Banks ended in negative territory, having earlier notched solid gains after the ECB allotted €530 billion in its second offering of cheap three-year funds to financial institutions, slightly above forecasts. Banks borrowed €489 billion in the first three-year operation in December.

Stocks in New York inched lower in choppy early trading yesterday after Bernanke’s comments were viewed as a subtle shift in the central bank’s accommodative monetary policy. Indexes appeared poised to advance for the fifth straight session on stronger-than-expected economic data before quickly reversing course as Bernanke began his testimony to the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

Apple topped $500 billion in market capitalization for the first time, rising 1.6 per cent in early trading.

(Additional reporting: Bloomberg/Reuters)