Business

Markets sluggish as Boeing posts $6 billion loss

Irish food groups retreat while Dalata finishes flat

The US markets were sluggish as Boeing published a quarterly loss of $6 billion (€5.5 billion), bringing its total losses to nearly $8 billion for the year so far.. Photograph: M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg
The US markets were sluggish as Boeing published a quarterly loss of $6 billion (€5.5 billion), bringing its total losses to nearly $8 billion for the year so far.. Photograph: M. Scott Brauer/Bloomberg
Fiona Keeley
Wed Oct 23 2024 - 18:41

The Iseq finished down 0.48 per cent on Wednesday, in line with European peers. The US markets were sluggish as Boeing published a quarterly loss of $6 billion (€5.6 billion), bringing its total losses to nearly $8 billion for the year so far..

Dublin

The Iseq finished down 0.48 per cent on Wednesday, in line with European peers. Kingspan finished down 2.07 per cent at €80.55 a share. Ryanair rose 0.11 per cent to €17.72.

Dalata Hotels finished flat on the day at €4.29 a share. From a banking perspective AIB finished down 0.33 per cent at €4.90 and Bank of Ireland gained 0.86 per cent to finish at €8.91.

Kerry Group dropped 0.75 per cent to €92.80 and Glanbia fell 1.61 per cent to €15.85 a share. Housebuilders Cairn Homes dropped 1.16 per cent to €2.13 and Glenveagh Properties fell 1.48 per cent to €1.60 a share.

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London

London’s blue-chip stock index extended declines for a fourth straight session on Wednesday, dragged down by mining stocks as the upcoming UK budget and the U.S. presidential election prompted investors to shy away from risky assets.

The FTSE 100 and the domestically focused FTSE 250 fell 0.6 per cent each, with both the indexes closing just above one-week lows touched in the previous session.

Industrial metal miners lost 1.6 per cent, while precious metal miners slipped 1.4 per cent as prices of copper and gold slipped against a stronger dollar.

The prospect of another Trump presidency has been in focus for investors, pushing them to the sidelines until further clarity. Former United States president Donald Trump’s policies include tariffs and restrictions on undocumented immigration, among other measures, that are expected to push up inflation.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England meets in two weeks to take a call on interest rates, with the markets fully pricing a rate cut in November, and see a likely further rate cut in December.

Europe

European shares closed Wednesday’s choppy session in the red, with mining stocks among top drags, while weak earnings from heavyweights such as Germany’s largest lender Deutsche Bank and beauty giant L’Oreal pressured sentiment further.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index declined 0.3 per cent, with bourses in major markets Germany, France and Italy also finishing lower.

Basic resources was the worst-hit sector, losing 1.4 per cent, with Sweden’s Boliden falling 2.3 per cent following a UBS rating downgrade to “sell” from “neutral”.

Earnings took centre stage with Deutsche Bank shares losing 2 per cent after the lender raised its forecast for bad loans against the backdrop of a weak German economy, which overshadowed its return to profit in the third quarter.

European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane said the recent flow of relatively weak data on the euro zone economy has raised questions about the bloc’s recovery prospects.

Worries are that sluggish economic growth in the currency union could reflect in corporate performance this quarter. The Stoxx 600 index has made negligible progress from levels first hit in mid-May this year.

New York

The S&P 500 fell 0.7 per cent. The Nasdaq 100 dropped 1 per cent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.9 per cent. Boeing dropped after signalling the company’s woes will take time to fix. It comes as Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg called for a “fundamental culture change” in the company as its quarterly losses surged to $6 billion due to a strike.

Sales in the United States of previously owned homes declined to an almost 14-year low in September as prospective buyers waited for a further decline in mortgage rates and more attractive asking prices.

The bond market is also trimming bets on the degree of Fed rate reductions over the next year. Traders will get more clarity next week on how much officials are likely to ease, with the release of a key labour market reading for October.

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