Global stocks halted their slide on Tuesday as hopes US president Donald Trump is still open to trade talks offset his remarks that he won’t offer extensions to his August deadline.
Dublin
Ryanair touched an all-time high in trading in Dublin on Tuesday as it outperformed the overall index.
Euronext Dublin closed up 0.4 per cent on low volumes during what has been a quiet trading period. Ryanair finished up 0.8 per cent on the day, and has now climbed 29 per cent in the year-to-date.
The airline climbed as high as €24.98 at one point during the day before slipping back to €24.59.
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“That was some move,” said a trader. “Quite often you see it grinding higher into that territory and then it dissipates, but it hasn’t. There has been some profit-taking as well, but it’s not impacting Ryanair.
“To still have momentum given the move it has had is quite interesting. At one point today, it was at an all-time high.”
Elsewhere, it was a muted day for the two bigger banks with AIB and Bank of Ireland down 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively. PTSB had a better day as it climbed nearly 2 per cent.
Meanwhile, Cavan-based insulation specialist Kingspan traded up 2 per cent after a rally late in the day.
London
The UK’s FTSE 100 closed at a three-week high as a weaker pound lifted shares of international firms, while investors scrutinised ongoing US tariff negotiations.
The internationally oriented FTSE 100 rose 0.5 per cent to its highest close since June 17th, while the FTSE 250 midcap index gained 0.2 per cent.
Oil and gas stocks led sectoral gains, rising 2.2 per cent as crude prices hovered near two-week highs. Energy giant BP rose 3.2 per cent, topping the blue-chip index, while Shell gained 2 per cent.
Precious metal mining stocks declined 2.3 per cent, leading sectoral losses as gold prices fell on expectations of trade agreements between the US and its partners.
Mining giant Rio Tinto’s shares rose 1.3 per cent, while Glencore was up 2.8 per cent and Anglo American rose 1.2 per cent.
Victrex fell 8.4 per cent to the bottom of the midcap index after the polymer manufacturer appointed a new CEO and gave a tepid second-half profit forecast.
Europe
European stocks held firm, with sources saying the European Union will not be receiving a letter setting out higher tariffs and that the EU could reach a trade deal by Wednesday.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.33 per cent. The Cac 40 in Paris closed up 0.6 per cent, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt ended up 0.5 per cent. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.04 per cent.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield, the euro zone benchmark, rose 4 basis points to 2.64 per cent, after earlier touching its highest since May 21st.
Most other bonds were trading in line with German benchmarks. Italy’s 10-year yield rose four basis points to 3.56 per cent, again its highest since late May. France’s 10-year yield hit a three-month high and was last at 3.358 per cent, up three basis points on the day.
New York
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq struggled for direction as anxiety over Donald Trump’s latest tariff salvo overshadowed investor hopes that fresh talks with US trading partners might avert a full-blown global trade war.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.13 per cent; the S&P 500 gained 0.02 per cent; while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.03 per cent.
In mega-cap stocks, shares of Tesla gained 2.5 per cent after the stock recorded its steepest single-day fall in nearly a month on Monday.
Shares of solar stocks fell, with SunRun down 12 per cent, Enphase Energy down 3.2 per cent, and SolarEdge Technologies down 3.8 per cent. – Additional reporting: Agencies