European stocks clocked their fifth straight week of gains on Friday with investors buying into the oil and gas and banking sectors.
Cautious investors also sought refuge in defensive sectors such as utilities, property, and food and beverages ahead of next week, which is packed with economic data releases.
DUBLIN
The Iseq index finished the week with a 0.25 per cent rise on Friday, as a climb for Ryanair the day after its AGM was offset by drops for other key stocks. The airline rose 0.75 per cent to €10.00, recovering much of its Thursday loss.
Food group Kerry also made gains, closing up 0.8 per cent at €104.20. The company completed the sale of Ireland's lowest-rate corporate bond, raising €750 million for the food ingredients and nutrition giant.
However, building materials group CRH ended 0.35 per cent lower on the day at €31.03, while paper and packaging company Smurfit Kappa was 1.35 per cent weaker on €27.76.
There were contrasting fortunes for the banks, with Bank of Ireland falling almost 0.7 per cent to €3.65, while AIB posted a 1.9 per cent rise to €2.65.
Dalata Hotel Group rose 1.2 per cent to €5.06, and it was also a positive day for food group Glanbia, up 2 per cent at €11.40, and Glenveagh Properties, which advanced 4.3 per cent to 0.75 cent.
Forecourt operator Applegreen rose 9.7 per cent to €5.68 on its Iseq listing after it reported a 145 per cent increase in half-year profits.
LONDON
The FTSE 100 was down almost 0.2 per cent, leaving it down 0.3 per cent for the week, breaking a three-week streak of gains. Losses for the exporter-heavy blue-chip index came despite a weakening in sterling later in the session.
Steady dividend-paying companies including Unilever and British American Tobacco were down at least 1.5 per cent.
Tour operator Thomas Cook fell 23 per cent after it confirmed it is seeking £200 million in extra funding as it attempts to prevent a collapse.
Royal Bank of Scotland made gains after it appointed Alison Rose as its new chief executive. Ms Rose had been the favourite to succeed Ross McEwan in the role.
Mattress seller Eve Sleep returned to the junior AIM stock exchange after saying a planned merger with rival Simba will not go ahead and revenues will be below expectations. Eve Sleep's shares crashed 32 per cent as a result.
EUROPE
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed up 0.3 per cent in a volatile session, taking weekly gains to 0.3 per cent. The German Dax nudged up 0.1 per cent while the French Cac 40 rose 0.6 per cent.
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk gained 2.6 per cent after the US Food and Drug Administration approved an oral version of its diabetes drug, semaglutide.
Shares in French retail group Casino were up 3.8 per cent after the debt-laden company said it was in talks to sell its discount store chain, Leader Price, to German rival Aldi.
Airbus, up 43 per cent so far this year, was down 3.2 per cent.
Shares in Denmark's Jyske Bank jumped 5.3 per cent after the lender said people with more than $111,100 in their accounts would be charged a deposit rate.
NEW YORK
Wall Street stocks ticked higher, as cues of easing monetary policy around the globe and signs of further co-operation on China-US trade talks kept the S&P 500 within 1 per cent of a record high.
Netflix slipped 5.6 per cent to a nine-month low after analyst at Evercore ISI said recent data checks painted an uncertain picture of the streaming service provider's international subscriber growth.
Merck & Co gained 1.5 per cent as the company's drugs Pifeltro and Delstrigo receive FDA approval for use in certain adult patients with HIV-1 who are "virally suppressed". – Additional reporting: Reuters.
