A rally in European stocks slowed while US equities tread water as markets digested stronger-than-expected wholesale price inflation data and US bond yields rose.
DUBLIN
The Iseq index rose by 1.1 per cent, slightly outperforming its European peers.
Cairn Homes jumped 2 per cent after lodging new plans for 236 apartments and 16 houses from Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council for its site at Chesterfield, Cross Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin.
The Irish banks also moved higher as part of a wider sectoral move across Europe. AIB climbed 3.4 per cent to close at €7.41 per share, while Bank of Ireland jumped 2.1 per cent to €13.22.
RM Block
Ryanair also advanced, adding 0.6 per cent to €26.30 per share while other large caps like Kingspan and Kerry Group were little changed.
‘I don’t think the Department of Finance have any respect for the tourism industry’
Adding to Wednesday’s 16 per cent surge, Glanbia added another 1.4 per cent to close at €14.32 per share after the nutritionals group raised its earnings forecast earlier in the previous session.
EUROPE
European shares touched two-week highs as the blue-chip Stoxx 50 added 0.7 per cent and the pan-European Stoxx 600 advanced by 0.5 per cent.
Insurers were in the spotlight with the likes of Swiss Re reporting earnings. The firm was down 3.9 per cent on the session, despite reporting better than expected net profits for the first half.
Meanwhile, Carlsberg fell 5.5 per cent after the Danish brewer missed half-year profit and volume forecasts, and said it did not expect any improvement in the consumer environment this year.
Thyssenkrupp tumbled 8.9 per cent after the German conglomerate cut its full-year outlook for investments and sales, citing disruption from US tariffs.
LONDON
After three consecutive sessions of gains, British stocks were little changed, with the benchmark FTSE 100 essentially flat on the session and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index down by 0.2 per cent.
Insurers led sectoral gains with Aviva jumping 2.4 per cent after jumping to its highest level since 2007 earlier in the session. The group raised its interim dividend on Thursday after reporting a stronger half-year operating profit.
British insurer Admiral hit a record high, rising 5.8 per cent after a strong first-half profit.
The energy sector was the main drag on the FTSE 100, down 1.3 per cent
Harbour Energy led the losses, falling 4.5 per cent, while oil majors Shell and BP fell by 1.5 per cent and 0.9 per cent.
Industrial metal miners also retreated amid weakness in copper and iron ore prices, with Rio Tinto down by 4 per cent and Anglo American down by 1.7 per cent.
Among individual stocks, British Gas owner Centrica rose 2.5 per cent after announcing it will jointly buy National Grid’s Grain LNG terminal with US-based Energy Capital Partners for about £1.5 billion (€1.7 billion).
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indices were little changed in early trading on Thursday despite a stronger-than-anticipated inflation reading that spurred a rise in bond yields and the dollar.
US wholesale inflation accelerated in July by the most in three years, suggesting companies are passing along higher import costs related to tariffs, raising the spectre of renewed price pressures and causing traders to trim bets on the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates next month.
After a recent rocket-fuelled rally, the S&P 500 was flat despite gains in big tech stocks.
Cisco Systems lost 1 per cent after the network equipment manufacturer’s broadly in-line forecast did little to encourage investors.
Deere & Co fell 8 per cent after the farm-equipment maker reported a lower quarterly profit and tightened its annual profit forecast, while Tapestry plunged 17.6 per cent after the Coach handbag maker forecast annual profit below estimates. – Additional reporting: Reuters/Bloomberg
