European shares eked out record highs on Wednesday as investors digested upbeat earnings forecasts from beverage giants and banks.
On Wall Street, US equities slipped after unexpectedly hot inflation data seemed to scupper hopes for fresh interest rate cuts.
Dublin
The Iseq index gained 0.75 per cent, boosted by strong moves from the Irish banks.
Bank of Ireland advanced by 3.3 per cent to close at €10.20 per share while PTSB gained 2.65 per cent to €1.55. Lagging behind the pack somewhat, AIB added almost 0.2 per cent to close at €5.98.
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Shares in Ryanair moved almost 1.3 per cent higher to €20.10 per share. Glanbia added 0.9 per cent to €14.38 while insulation giant Kingspan climbed 0.75 per cent to €67.60 per share.
Of Irish interest in New York, shares in Smurfit WestRock slid more than 5 per cent as the world’s largest cardboard box-maker, created last summer by merger, disappointed the market with its fourth-quarter earnings and outlook for early 2025.
London
After crawling 0.3 per cent higher, the blue-chip FTSE 100 continued its streak, closing on another record high, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 lost 0.2 per cent.
Shares in drugmaker AstraZeneca rose 1.5 per cent after brokerage Morgan Stanley said it expects it to outperform the industry this year, while shares in its Indian subsidiary climbed on a quarterly profit jump, driven by strong demand for oncology products.
Prudential rose 5.8 per cent after the British insurer said it was evaluating the potential listing of India’s ICICI Prudential Asset Management, involving a partial divestment of its shares.
The house building sector rose 1.4 per cent, with Barratt Redrow climbing 5.3 per cent to its highest since July 2023 after the company issued an upbeat annual profit forecast and announced a share buyback.
The oil and gas sector gained 0.5 per cent after Shell said global demand for liquefied natural gas will see a robust rise in the next few years.
On the flip side, industrial metal miners dipped 0.4 per cent as aluminium prices lost ground.
Europe
Europe’s main equities indices edged higher on Wednesday, squeaking ahead to a record high. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index finished a choppy session up by 0.1 per cent while the blue-chip Stoxx 50 was up by close to 0.3 per cent.
Some of the biggest gains of the session were in the food and beverage sector after Heineken reported better-than-expected profits.
The Dutch drinks giant soared 14.4 per cent – its biggest ever one-day increase – after it launched a buyback and forecast further operating profit growth in 2025.
Its peers Anheuser-Busch InBev and Carlsberg also rose 2.8 per cent and 3.2 per cent, respectively.
European banks led gains with ABN AMRO up 8.2 per cent at a more than five-year high after the Dutch bank’s fourth-quarter results beat market expectations.
Among others, Carl Zeiss Meditec slid 12.5 per cent after the German optical systems maker posted downbeat quarterly core earnings.
New York
Wall Street’s main indices slipped after a hotter-than-expected consumer price index reading added to concerns that the Federal Reserve might not cut rates again soon.
US consumer prices increased by the most in more than a year in January, bolstering bets that the Fed will be in no rush to announce further cuts.
At closing bell in Europe, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had slipped by almost 1 per cent while the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.6 per cent and S&P 500 had lost 0.8 per cent.
Most megacap and growth stocks fell, with Nvidia and Amazon sliding by more than 1 per cent each.
Lyft dropped 6.6 per cent after the ride-hailing company forecasted current-quarter gross bookings below estimates.
Moving in the opposite direction, CVS Health advanced by 13.6 per cent after the healthcare conglomerate beat fourth-quarter profit estimates. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg/Reuters
