Positive data from Britain and the euro zone boosted trading in European markets on Wednesday while, on Wall Street, chipmaker Nvidia continued to gather steam, surpassing Alphabet to become the US’s third most valuable company.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin rose by 0.94 per cent on Wednesday, as the ISEQ All Share index closed at 9,371.6.
Among the banks, AIB rose by 1.2 per cent to €4.06, and Bank of Ireland gained 1.25 per cent to close at €8.26. On the downside, Permanent TSB fell by 1.24 per cent to €1.59.
Home builder Cairn Homes gained 0.27 per cent to €1.50, while peer Glenveagh Properties fell again, by 0.8 per cent, to close at €1.23. Meanwhile, building materials company Kingspan closed 2.09 per cent stronger on €81.10.
Budget airline Ryanair gained 0.15 per cent to close at €20.05, while packaging giant Smurfit Kappa rose by 0.13 per cent to reach €37.20.
Food company Kerry Group hit €81.98, a gain of 1.59 per cent, in advance of the company publishing financial results for 2023 on Thursday. Meanwhile, peer Glanbia rose by 1.31 per cent to a price of €16.19.
Insurer FBD Holdings saw shares increase by 6.44 per cent to €12.40, after the company announced after hours on Tuesday that its pretax profit for 2023 will come in at a better-than-expected figure of about €80 million.
London
UK shares moved higher as softer-than-expected domestic inflation data fuelled investor hopes for an early interest rate cut by the Bank of England. The export-heavy FTSE 100 index rose by 0.75 per cent to 7,568.40, while the more domestically-focused FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index gained 0.42 per cent to close at 19,003.89.
Data showed British consumer price inflation unexpectedly held steady at an annual rate of 4 per cent in January, unchanged from December.
Among individual stocks, Coca-Cola HBC jumped by 7.98 per cent to the top of the FTSE 100 index, after the bottler said it expected profit to grow in 2024 and reported record annual profit for last year.
Dunelm Group lost 3.04 per cent after the home-furnishing retailer flagged slower margin growth in second half of the year as it manages the impact of Red Sea-related shipping disruptions.
Europe
European shares edged higher as a flash estimate from Eurostat showed that seasonally-adjusted GDP remained stable in the euro zone in the final three months of last year, and increased by 0.1 per cent across the European Union.
European Central Bank vice-president Luis de Guindos said the region’s inflation appeared to be heading back to 2 per cent, but that more data was needed before the ECB could be comfortable that record-high rates had done their job.
ABN Amro gained 6.62 per cent after the Dutch lender reported fourth-quarter net interest income slightly above expectations.
Heineken slumped 6.42 per cent as the Dutch brewer forecast operating profit growth of low- to high-single digits in 2024, citing volatility in geopolitics and economic conditions.
Shares of TUI fell 5.87 per cent after shareholders of Europe’s biggest travel agent voted to move its listing to Frankfurt.
New York
Wall Street gained some head of steam after a sell-off on Tuesday on a hot inflation report. Days before Nvidia, the poster child of the AI boom, is due to report its fourth-quarter results it surpassed Alphabet’s market value, moving up the ranks to become the third-most valuable US company.
Other rate-sensitive megacaps such as Meta Platforms, and other chip stocks such as Advanced Micro Devices and Qualcomm also recovered.
Lyft surged more than 30 per cent after the ride-hailing platform’s profit beat estimates and it said it would generate positive free cash flow for the first time in 2024. Rival Uber also gained, boosted by a $7 billion (€6.52 billion) share buyback plan.
Robinhood Markets jumped following a surprise fourth-quarter profit, while crypto stocks like such as Coinbase, Marathon Digital and Riot surged as bitcoin’s market value crossed the $1 trillion (€930 billion) threshold for the first time since November 2021. – Additional reporting: Reuters
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