Global shares were muted on Wednesday as European stocks moved slightly higher while the main Wall Street indices traded flat as investors awaited the minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting.
Among the biggest winners on the session were industrial and precious metal miners as gold prices continued to float around record highs.
Investors have piled back into gold this week as they position themselves for further US interest rate cuts this year, driving bullion prices to $2,531 (€2,274) per troy ounce on Tuesday.
Dublin
Moving in line with its European peers the Iseq All-Shares Indexed traded slightly higher on Wednesday, adding just over 0.3 per cent.
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Financials were among the biggest movers on the session with AIB up by more than 1 per cent to €5.24 per share while Bank of Ireland advanced by 0.9 per cent to €10.19 at the close.
Home-builders were mixed after Tuesday’s declines with Cairn Homes up by 0.6 per cent at €1.89 per share while Glenveagh slipped 0.3 per cent to €1.37.
Ryanair moved 0.4 per cent higher to close at €14.86 per share, while Greencoat Renewables advanced by almost 2.9 per cent to €0.93 at the close on relatively high volumes for the session.
London
London’s FTSE 100 index inched 0.1 per cent higher while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was up by around 1 per cent.
Industrial metal miners were the biggest gainers in the benchmark index with a 1.6 per cent gain despite a downtick in copper prices. Precious metal miners jumped 1.2 per cent as bullion hovered below its record-high levels following a rally fuelled by fund inflows and US rate-cut optimism.
Glencore, Rio Tinto and Anglo American were all ahead by between 0.75 per cent to 1.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, among individual stocks Mobico advanced 6.2 per cent after the British transport company posted an over 28 per cent jump in its first-half profit.
Watkin Jones slid 30 per cent after it missed profit estimates for the year and said it was reviewing options on funding, followed by a downgrade to “hold” from “buy” by brokerage Peel Hunt.
Guinness-owner Diageo added 2 per cent in unison with gains in European drink stocks Pernod Ricard and Remy Cointreau.
Europe
The blue-chip Stoxx 50 and the cross-Continental Stoxx 600 indices edged slightly higher on Wednesday.
Rising to the top of the index at one point, Demant gained 2 per cent after Morgan Stanley upgraded its rating on the Danish hearing care company to “overweight” from “underweight”.
Alcon fell to the bottom of the Stoxx 600, losing 2.8 per cent after the Swiss eye care company reported a smaller-than-expected increase in second-quarter sales.
New York
Wall Street’s main indices were muted as investors awaited the minutes of US Federal Reserve’s latest monetary policy meeting, expected after European markets close.
The Nasdaq Composite, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were all trading flat at closing bell in Dublin.
Among the top movers on Wednesday was Target, which jumped 13 per cent after the retailer raised its annual profit forecast and posted upbeat quarterly comparable sales as more Americans shopped at its stores, drawn by low-priced groceries and essentials.
US-listed shares of Chinese ecommerce firm JD.com dropped 7 per cent after Reuters reported Walmart, the company’s biggest shareholder, has sold its entire stake in the firm. Walmart’s shares were up nearly 1 per cent.
Macy’s lowered its annual net sales forecast as lingering weakness in US consumer spending dashed hopes of a turnaround in demand for big-ticket discretionary goods, sending the retailer’s shares down 8 per cent.
Keysight Technologies gained 11.8 per cent after the electronic equipment maker beat third-quarter revenue and profit estimates. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
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