World share markets lost momentum on Tuesday as investor optimism that interest rates have peaked and the Federal Reserve will soon begin cutting them faded.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the day up 20 basis points, marginally outperforming its European peers.
AIB finished the day up 1.6 per cent after Minister for Finance Michael McGrath raised almost €515 million from the sale of a further 5 per cent stake in the bank as the State continues to claw back the bank’s crisis-era bailout. Elsewhere, Bank of Ireland climbed 1.5 per cent.
Some of the Irish construction names benefited from UK housebuilder Persimmon which climbed 6 per cent after it indicated it increased its estimate for completed units this year.
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Cairn Homes climbed up 3 per cent while Woodies DIY parent Grafton Group traded up marginally. Elsewhere, Glenveagh Properties and insulation specialist Kingspan were unchanged.
Ryanair climbed 2 per cent after its interim results on Monday showed profits rose 59 per cent to €2.18 billion in the six months ended September 30th.
“They are on the roadshow currently highlighting their results,” a trader noted. “That will continue for the week and they often trade buoyantly during these roadshows are they are on the road selling their story.”
London
The FTSE 100 trod water for a second session in a row, climbing just 0.1 per cent, after some of the UK’s biggest natural resource companies offset the strong results from the retail and house building sector.
Primark owner AB Foods was close to the top of the index after revealing that profit rose by more than a quarter to more than £1.3 billion in the year to September 16th.
At the top of the index, it was rubbing shoulders with fellow retailers Ocado, Frasers and Marks & Spencer.
But falling prices for energy and metals weighed on the natural resource sector. Mining giants Anglo America, Antofagasta and Glencore were all near the bottom of the FTSE, joined by Centrica, BP and Shell.
In company news, the boss of Naked Wines stepped down as the company warned that its earnings and revenue targets would be missed.
Shares plunged by nearly 33 per cent after the news. The business said that revenue will fall between 12-16 per cent this year, compared to previous guidance of an 8-12 per cent fall.
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Europe
On the continent, the Dax index in Germany was up 0.1 per cent, while the Cac 40 in France dropped 0.4 per cent.
MSCI’s gauge of global stock performance shed 0.05 per cent, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.06 per cent.
“European markets have seen another muted and lacklustre session,” noted CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes climbed following a choppy start to the session as falling US Treasury yields supported megacap growth stocks, while investors awaited more commentary by Federal Reserve officials to gauge the interest rate path.
Megacap growth names such as Microsoft, Apple and Amazon rose between 1.1 per cent and 2.2 per cent, helping the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperform peers.
Five of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors traded higher, with information technology, consumer discretionary and communication services leading gains.
Energy stocks were the top decliners, down 2.4 per cent as crude prices fell on mixed economic data from China.
The S&P 500 was set for its seventh straight day in the green, while the Nasdaq was on track to rise for the eighth day in a row.
Uber Technologies rose 3.5 per cent as the ride-hailing firm projected fourth-quarter adjusted core profit above estimates.
Elsewhere, Datadog surged 28.5 per cent on raising its forecast for annual adjusted profit and revenue. – Additional reporting: Agencies
