European shares closed at a record high on Wednesday, boosted by technology stocks following strong results from chip equipment maker ASML, while investors shifted their focus to a monetary policy verdict by the US Federal Reserve.
After the Fed decision, due after the close of European markets, attention will to turn to the European Central Bank (ECB), which is expected to cut rates by 25 basis points on Thursday.
Dublin
The Iseq closed 0.2 per cent lower, as Ryanair came under pressure, declining 0.8 per cent to €20.32, despite comments from chief executive Michael O’Leary that he expects Boeing to be given the go-ahead to ramp up production of its 737 jets this year beyond the current regulator-imposed cap of 38 per month.
Glanbia lost 1.7 per cent to finish at €14.30, Kerry was down 0.6 per cent at €99.50 and Cairn Homes fell 0.9 per cent to €2.14, while Kingspan edged 0.3 per cent lower to €68.20.
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Bank of Ireland was one of the key gainers in the session, with its stock rising 1.5 per cent to €9.82.
London
The FTSE 100 inched 0.3 per cent higher, boosted by gains in the technology and financial sectors, while the pound slipped after chancellor of the exchequer Rachel Reeves’s dovish remarks on resetting ties with the EU and the US. The mid-cap FTSE 250 nudged down 0.1 per cent.
Financials stocks such as HSBC and Barclays rose 1.4 per cent and 2.4 per cent respectively, while NatWest Group ticked up 2.3 per cent.
Automobile shares jumped 3.8 per cent. The majority of that boost came from a 7.5 per cent pop in shares of Dowlais Group after US autoparts maker American Axle and Manufacturing said it will buy it in a cash-and-stock deal.
Mexico’s second-largest gold miner Fresnillo was one of the top gainers, with a 2.7 per cent rise after it posted full-year gold production slightly ahead of market outlook.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.5 per cent, logging its biggest one-day jump in more than one week. The technology sector led gains with a 2.5 per cent rise.
ASML surged 5.6 per cent after the Dutch company reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter bookings of €7.09 billion.
The chip equipment maker’s earnings also reassured investors that AI chip prospects were still healthy, as they recovered from a selloff sparked by the release of China’s DeepSeek’s model, which uses less computing power than those of rivals.
Other semiconductor stocks STMicroelectronics, BE Semiconductor and ASM International gained between 0.8 per cent and 3.1 per cent.
Germany’s Dax added 0.9 per cent to close at a record high, boosted by a 4.5 per cent jump in Deutsche Telekom after US peer T-Mobile issued a robust subscriber growth forecast.
Swedish truck maker Volvo jumped 7.7 per cent after reporting strong orders for the fourth quarter.
Limiting gains, LVMH fell 4.9 per cent as the luxury goods group’s sales growth failed to impress investors following a string of strong results from rivals and recent price gains.
Kering and Christian Dior also declined about 5 per cent. The French benchmark CAC 40 index was the only benchmark among major EU economies in the red.
US
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate decision.
Nvidia fell 4.6 per cent after rising close to 9 per cent on Tuesday. Its shares were hammered on Monday, after Chinese startup DeepSeek launched AI models.
Apple shed 0.6 per cent after brokerage Oppenheimer downgraded its rating to “perform” from “outperform”. The iPhone maker is scheduled to report quarterly earnings later this week.
Earnings from “Magnificent Seven” stocks Microsoft, Facebook-parent Meta and Tesla are expected after markets close, as are Intel’s.
Additional reporting: Reuters
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