US stocks fluctuate near eight week high

Treasuries fell yesterday with European bonds and the dollar weakening after lending data dented prospects for additional central bank stimulus in the region.

US stocks fluctuated near an eight-week high, while Canadian equities climbed after a surprise election victory for the Liberal Party. The yield on 10-year treasuries jumped after data showed an increase in new-home construction, while four-week bill rates spiked higher amid the debt-ceiling debate.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index held near 2,030, with an earlier advance halting at the gauge’s 100-day moving average.

European shares slid after the central bank said its stimulus has shown signs of being effective.

DUBLIN

There was little movement on the Irish Stock Exchange with the biggest mover on the day

Ormonde Mining

down 10.74 per cent to 2.7 cents a share.

Paddy Power

enjoyed a rise of 1.26 per cent to a closing price of €100.85 per share. There was also some movement for fruit distribution company

Fyffes

which rose 3.75 per cent to €1.52 per share. The Smurfit Kappa Group rose 0.41 per cent to €24.40 per share.

LONDON The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended 0.1 per cent lower at 6,345.13 points, outperforming a 0.4 per cent fall in the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300. The FTSE 100 index still trades about 11 per cent below its all-time highs hit in April.

InterContinental Hotels Group surged 6.9 per cent after saying it was confident in its outlook for the year due to encouraging trading trends and after posting growth in its third quarter.

“Holiday Inn delivered a record level of room openings, key markets such as the US, the UK and Germany remained strong, while signs of recovery in markets such as Southern Europe and Russia played their part.” Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown said.

Whitbread also saw strength in its hotels business which, combined with growth in its Costa Coffee brand, helped its first-half profit rise about 14 per cent. Whitbread shares rose 3.3 per cent.

NEW YORK

In early trading, Wall Street was slightly lower as healthcare and biotech stocks fell, offsetting gains by

Verizon

and

United Technologies.

The S&P healthcare sector fell 1.6 per cent, dragged down by

Allergan

and

Pfizer.

Verizon’s shares were up nearly 2 per cent at $45.49 after the largest US wireless service provider reported better-than-expected revenue and profit. The stock gave the biggest boost to the telecom sector.

United Technologies rose 5.7 per cent to $97.26 after its quarterly profit beat expectations. The stock provided the biggest boost to the Dow Jones industrial average. IBM fell nearly 6 per cent to $140.57, hitting five-year lows, after it reported a bigger-than-expected fall in quarterly revenue.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 20.45 points, or 0.12 per cent, at 17,210.09, the S&P 500 was down 4.47 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 2,029.19 and the Nasdaq composite index was down 30.31 points.

EUROPE

European shares fell yesterday after reaching five-week highs the day before as energy stocks extended losses, but biotech firm

Actelion

rose after lifting its profit outlook.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 0.45 per cent and the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index fell 0.5 per cent.

Traders said shares dropped as investors took profits in the absence of anything to justify extending the recent gains. The focus remains on US earnings and the European Central Bank meeting this week.

Total fell as oil prices steadied after dropping for a week. The world's biggest independent oil trader said the market would struggle to recover ground over the next year.

(Additional reporting Reuters)