Markets surged on Friday on strong earnings news along with hopes of a deal in the US-China trade row and increased likelihood of an interest rate cut.
Dublin
The Irish market’s leading stocks performed well on Friday.
Insulation maker Kingspan climbed 2.4 per cent to €72.65.
Food group Glanbia added 2.68 per cent to €13.04 while rival Kerry advanced 1.62 per cent to €94.20.
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Ryanair dipped 0.9 per cent to close at €23.72.
The banks also lured buyers. AIB added 2.15 per cent to €6.90 while peer Bank of Ireland rose 2.91 per cent to €12.03. Permanent TSB climbed 1.01 per cent to €1.995.
London
London’s indeces climbed on Friday boosted driven by global optimism over earnings, trade policies and easy monetary policy.
The blue chip FTSE 100 rose 0.7 per cent while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 jumped 1.1 per cent to close at its highest level since February 2022.
Markets have rebounded in recent weeks due to easing concerns over the Middle East conflict, signs of US-China trade negotiations and potential for US interest rate cuts.
JD Sports was among the top gainers on the blue-chip FTSE 100, advancing 7.6 per cent to 87.88 pence sterling after US rival Nike’s upbeat earnings bolstered sportswear brands.
Unilever shares rose 1 per cent to 4,432p after the Financial Times reported it was buying men’s personal care brand Dr Squatch from private equity firm Summit Partners for $1.5 billion (€1.3 billion).
On the flip side, the FTSE 350 precious metals and mining index dropped 4.4 per cent as gold prices tumbled following a ceasefire between Iran and Israel.
Fresnillo fell 4.2 per cent to 1,433p while Endeavour Mining slid at the same rate to close at 2,176p. Hochschild Mining shed 2.6 per cent to 251.8p.
Europe
European stocks closed at an over one-week high on Friday, fuelled by a rally in automakers, as investors took more risks on hopes for a truce in the US-China trade spat.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 1.1 per cent higher, snapping a two-week losing streak and posting its first weekly gain in three.
German stocks notched their strongest weekly rally in two months, while France and Spain’s main indexes clocked their best weeks in over a month.
European auto stocks and the luxury sector particularly sensitive to China-related headlines, jumped 4.1 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively, steering sectoral advances.
Porsche jumped 7.6 per cent after newspaper Handelsblatt reported that the carmaker was looking to sell its consulting and IT services business MHP, which could be worth more than €1 billion.
The STOXX 600’s energy sector suffered its first drop in weeks. The industry lost steam as oil prices plunged, after fears of a closure of the Strait of Hormuz – crucial to global supply – subsided following a 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.
US
Wall Street pushed stocks toward fresh all-time highs after Friday’s economic data eased concerns about the impacts of tariffs.
Signs that the US economy shrank in the first three months of the year while people reined in spending sparked hopes that central bankers will cut interest rates again this year.
Sportswear giant Nike was up 15.5 per cent at $72.17 (€61.68) shortly after 6pm Irish time after the group pledged to cut production for the US market in China.
The company reported a year-on-year 12 per cent decline in revenue to $11.1 billion, but its 14 cent per share earnings beat market expectations, prompting investors to back the stock.
The main Wall Street indexes – the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq – touched intraday record highs on Friday with technology stocks in the lead.
Prices paid by consumers for goods and services rose 2.3 per cent overall in the US last month. Analysts argued that they showed little impact from tariffs on imports.
The Fed, the US central bank, expects inflation to rise during the summer months, but if this does not materialise, it has indicated that it will cut interest rates.
