Positive start for European stocks as investors await Fed and ECB policy decisions

European shares started the week in positive territory, making a small gain to mark the start of the week’s trading. Investors will now await policy decisions by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank, both of which are due later this week.

Dublin

The Irish index of shares was marginally higher on Monday, ending the session 0.3 per cent higher as heavyweights such as CRH buoyed the market.

Shares in AIB and Bank of Ireland both dipped lower, with AIB down 1.1 per cent and Bank of Ireland off half a per cent by the close of the session.

Building stocks climbed, with CRH ending the day at €45.72, up 1 per cent, regaining some of the ground it lost on Friday, while Cairn Homes saw a similar rise, finishing at €1.126. Insulation specialist Kingspan saw its shares rise more than 1.8 per cent to €63.48. Shares in Glenveagh were half a per cent off.

Underinsurance problem for homeowners

---

Aviva Insurance Ireland CEO: ‘There is still a huge incentive for solicitors to push for litigation’

---

New EU tax on carbon imports could complicate things for Republic

---

Ireland income tax: What would Sinn Féin’s policies mean for you?

---

Packaging giant Smurfit Kappa dipped into negative territory too, falling almost 1.2 per cent to €33.53.

London

The benchmark FTSE 100 edged 0.1 per cent higher, while the more domestically focused FTSE 250 midcap index added 0.5 per cent.

Croda International rose 3.2 per cent, steering gains in chemical stocks, rebounding from Friday’s tumble after a profit warning from the speciality chemicals group.

Ocado rose 3.6 per cent after BNP Paribas Exane upgraded the online grocer’s rating to “neutral”.

On the downside, energy majors Shell and BP dipped 0.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively, as oil prices slipped.

Among individual stocks, AO World jumped 7.8 per cent after sportswear and fashion retailer Frasers Group acquired an 18.9 per cent stake in the online electricals retailer.

Kainos Group jumped 6 per cent after brokerage Stifel upgraded the tech stock to “buy” from “hold”.

London-listed shares of Carnival Corp soared 12.7 per cent after JP Morgan upgraded the cruise operator’s rating to “overweight”.

Europe

Germany’s DAX index led gains among its European peers on Monday, boosted by Adidas shares after an analyst upgrade, while investor focus was largely on major central bank policy meetings scheduled through the week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.2 per cent higher, with the DAX up 0.9 per cent.

German sportswear maker Adidas jumped 5.5 per cent to the top of DAX after Bernstein raised its rating on the stock to “outperform” from “market perform”, as it expects factors such as the return of Chinese influencers and Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami is “likely to drive US market share” for Adidas.

Luxury majors LVMH and Hermès climbed 1.8 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, further supporting the Stoxx 600.

Meanwhile, UBS climbed 0.8 per cent on completion of its emergency takeover of embattled local rival Credit Suisse.

Shares in Italian broadcaster MFE-MediaForEurope NV rose as much as 5.9 per cent after founder and former Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi died at age 86.

Novartis added 0.7 per cent after it said it agreed to acquire Seattle-based biotech firm Chinook Therapeutics for up to $3.5 billion.

New York

The benchmark S&P 500 notched gains for a fourth straight week on Friday, building on a 20 per cent rise from its October 2022 lows, heralding the start of a new bull market, as defined by some market participants.

At 12.13pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 71.54 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 33,948.32; the S&P 500 was up 15.50 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 4,314.36; and the Nasdaq Composite was up 94.23 points, or 0.71 per cent, at 13,353.37.

Oracle advanced 6.4 per cent to hit an all-time high as JP Morgan hiked its price target to $109, in advance of the cloud and enterprise software firm’s fourth-quarter results later in the day.

Nasdaq slumped 13.5 per cent after the exchange operator said it would buy software firm Adenza for $10.5 billion, which analysts called an expensive bet.

Biogen shares edged up 1.6 per cent after a US FDA panel of advisers unanimously backed its Alzheimer’s drug, Leqembi, raising hopes that a traditional approval for the treatment might not come with major new safety warnings.

Broadcom gained 4.5 per cent as the chipmaker is set to gain conditional EU antitrust approval for its $61 billion proposed acquisition of cloud computing firm VMware.

– Additional reporting: Reuters