European shares closed at their highest level in more than five months on Friday after US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell pointed to a possible September interest rate cut in his Jackson Hole Symposium speech.
Dublin
The Irish index of shares ended the week half a per cent higher, closing just below 11,719.
Banking shares were mixed, with Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB were up 0.3 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively. AIB stocks were flat on the day, while insurer FBD was 1.4 per cent lower.
Insulation specialist Kingspan was up 1.8 per cent over the session.
RM Block
Food group Kerry was marginally lower at €81 by the close of the session, while Glanbia added 0.2 per cent to finish at €14.29.
Among travel and leisure stocks, Ryanair rose 1 per cent by the close of the day, finishing at €26.59.
London
Britain’s FTSE 100 closed at a fresh all-time high on Friday for a fourth consecutive session, as global stocks rallied.
The blue-chip index ended up 0.2 per cent at 9,321.4, to cap off the week with a near 2 per cent gain, benefiting from a market rotation away from technology stocks that triggered a sell-off on Wall Street earlier this week.
The FTSE 100 has also reached new heights of above 9,300 points, advancing 14 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, the midcap index FTSE 250 jumped 1.2 per cent on Friday and finished the week up 1.5 per cent.
Banking stocks in London led FTSE 100 gains, rising 0.5 per cent, with Standard Chartered jumping over 4 per cent following a favourable U.S. Department of Justice ruling in a long-standing civil case.
The home builders’ index rose 2 per cent.
Luxury goods makers and the automobile and parts index each gained 2.9 per cent.
The energy sector added 0.7 per cent after oil prices nudged up as Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for a stalled peace process.
Retailers and consumer groups like Tesco, J Sainsbury and Unilever marginally dropped. The consumer stocks index also fell 0.7 per cent.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.4 per cent higher, less than 1 per cent away from record highs. The index logged its third week of gains. Most regional bourses also closed in positive territory.
Miners led sectoral gains with a 1.6 per cent advance, tracking rising copper prices that hit a one-week high following Powell’s comments.
Consumer facing sectors such as automobiles and travel and leisure stocks followed, up 1.4 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.
On the flip side, insurers fell the most, down 0.6 per cent.
Standard Chartered shares gained 4.2 per cent after the bank said it had received a favourable ruling by the US Department of Justice in a long-running civil case.
Shares in Polish banks fell after the finance ministry proposed raising corporate income tax for the sector.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes rallied on Friday after Fed chair Jerome Powell pointed to a possible interest-rate cut during his Jackson Hole Symposium speech.
By midmorning, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 902.75 points, or 2.02 per cent, to 45,688.25, hitting an all-time high.
The S&P 500 gained 103.53 points, or 1.63 per cent, to 6,473.70, on track for its biggest one-day gain since May. The Nasdaq Composite gained 413.41 points, or 1.96 per cent, to 21,513.72.
Intuit dropped 4.4 per cent after the TurboTax-maker forecast first-quarter revenue growth below analysts’ estimates due to weak performance at its MailChimp marketing platform.
Workday shed 3.6 per cent after the human resources software provider provided an in-line outlook for the current quarter. – Additional reporting: Reuters
