A global equities index fell slightly on Tuesday while Treasury yields rose as investors awaited inflation data due later in the week for potential clues about the outlook for US interest rates.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished down 30 basis points on what was a muted day for the market.
Renewable energy group Corre Energy saw its value climb 7 per cent after it started a share sale to existing investors to give them a chance to avoid their stakes being diluted by a placing of €2.12 million of stock with founders and a long-term shareholder.
It was an otherwise unremarkable day of trading, but there was some activity among the banks as AIB climbed 30 basis points and Bank of Ireland slipped 5 basis points.
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Budget airline Ryanair was flat on the day. “There is a still a good bit of interest following the results, and they had the roadshow, but it was a muted enough day nonetheless,” said a trader.
Elsewhere, insulation specialist Kingspan was down 1.6 per cent at close of business, but the move was in line with the sector. Box-maker Smurfit Kappa traded good volumes, and finished the day up 16 basis points.
London
The UK’s stock markets struggled to get off the ground as losses for gambling giants pulled on the FTSE 100. The blue-chip index was down 0.76 per cent at close of business.
Flutter Entertainment and Entain were the biggest fallers of the day, with Paddy Power Betfair owner Flutter in the midst of moving its primary listing to the US.
It is reportedly facing higher taxes on sports betting across the pond, thanks to a new bill passed in Illinois.
The losses were only partially offset by gains for some retailers, including JD Sports and Ocado, after new figures showed UK shop price inflation had returned to “normal levels”.
British Retail Consortium-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index showed that shop prices in May were 0.6 per cent higher than a year earlier, the lowest growth since November 2021.
But experts said it was not clear what was driving a recent surge in Ocado’s share price, which spiked by nearly a 10th on Tuesday.
Shares in Persimmon dipped amid speculation that the FTSE 100-listed housebuilder is considering a £1 billion (€1.17 billion) takeover bid for Cala Group. But investors appeared to be lukewarm about the possibility of a deal, and its share price was 3 per cent lower at close.
Elsewhere, shares in Boohoo edged lower after the fashion retailer said it was ditching to plans to pay a £1 million annual bonus to each of its top bosses.
The company said its executive directors had chosen to waive their bonuses after it reportedly came under pressure from shareholders. Its share price was 0.6 per cent lower at close.
Europe
It was a weak session for top stock markets elsewhere in Europe. Germany’s Dax was down 0.48 per cent at close and France’s Cac 40 closed 0.92 per cent lower.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.15 per cent, while Europe’s Stoxx 600 index fell 0.72 per cent.
New York
The Nasdaq breached the 17,000 level for the first time, buoyed as AI darling Nvidia jumped to a record high, even as focus shifted to key inflation data later in the week that could sway expectations for the Federal Reserve’s rate-cut path.
Nvidia’s gains lifted its fellow chip stocks, with the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index up 1.7 per cent as traders returned from a holiday-extended weekend.
The Dow lagged other indexes as healthcare and financial stocks dragged. Healthcare also led the S&P 500 subsector losses, weighed by an 8 per cent drop in Moderna.
The possibility that the world’s most influential central bank could kick off interest-rate cuts this year has sent Wall Street on a record-breaking rally since late 2023, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 marking their fifth straight week of gains on Friday. – Additional reporting: Agencies
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