European shares came off multi-month highs on Friday, as declines in heavyweight tech and financial shares offset gains from some corporate earnings. Meanwhile, investors monitored a crucial summit between US president Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin over Ukraine.
Investors hope the meeting could pave the way for a resolution of the Ukraine war, which has raged since February 2022.
Dublin
The Dublin market ended the week on a positive note, closing up half a per cent.
Financial stocks were mixed on the day, with AIB and Bank of Ireland both edging lower by almost half a per cent each, while Permanent TSB was flat and insurer FBD gained 2.5 per cent to close at €14.35.
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Food groups Kerry and Glanbia were both marginally lower, with Kerry down 0.13 per cent and Glanbia shedding 0.14 per cent.
Insulation specialist Kingspan ended the week 1.7 per cent higher.
Travel stocks rose, with Ryanair up 1.7 per cent and closing the day at €26.75. Shares in ferries group Irish Continental gained 1.45 per cent, closing the week at €5.60.
London
The FTSE 100 fell back after hitting a new all-time high to close lower on Friday. This was amid caution ahead of the US-Russia peace summit, hints of more tariffs and weak US consumer sentiment.
The index closed down 38.34 points, 0.4 per cent, at 9,138.90. It had earlier reached an all-time intra-day high of 9,222.07.
The FTSE 250 ended down 43.43 points, 0.2 per cent, at 21,758.24, and the AIM All-Share finished 0.86 of a point higher, 0.1 per cent, at 759.80.
On the FTSE 100, mining stocks rose despite weak data from China.
Anglo American rose 2.1 per cent, Glencore climbed 1.8 per cent and Antofagasta 1.2 per cent on hopes the soft figures will spark action from Chinese authorities.
On a quiet day for company news, Associated British Foods ended up 0.2 per cent after confirming the acquisition of Hovis Group from private equity firm Endless.
AB Foods plans to combine Hovis with its existing Allied Bakeries division to create a “profitable UK bread business that is sustainable over the long term”.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.1 per cent lower, after hitting a near five-month high earlier in the session.
Aerospace and defence stocks fell 0.8 per cent ahead of the US-Russia summit on Ukraine.
Technology stocks fell 0.6 per cent, weighing on the STOXX 600 index. ASML, the world’s biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, fell 1 per cent after US peer Applied Materials lowered its fourth-quarter earnings forecast due to weak demand in China and impacts from tariff uncertainty.
The Dutch firm had issued a similar warning in mid-July, saying it might not achieve its 2026 growth forecast. Chip stocks BE Semiconductor and ASMI dropped 3.3 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.
Healthcare shares, which have taken a beating this year from uncertainty around Trump’s pharma tariffs, were on track for a recovery.
The healthcare index logged its seventh consecutive session of gains, its longest streak since late January.
Regional bourses were mixed, with Germany’s DAX and the UK’s FTSE declining, while France’s CAC and Spain’s IBEX posted gains.
New York
The Dow hit a record high earlier in the session, becoming the last of Wall Street’s main indexes to soar to a new peak. Benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were losing ground, dragged down by technology, utilities and financials stocks. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.09 per cent, the S&P 500 fell 0.25 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.36 per cent.
Shares in Intel jumped more than 2 per cent by lunchtime on Friday, following a 7 per cent bounce the previous day, after reports that the Trump administration had discussed an unusual move to acquire an ownership stake as part of a plan to revive the troubled US chipmaker.
Shares of UnitedHealth Group surged more than 13 per cent on Friday after billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway bought five-million shares of the company, providing a shot in the arm for investors who think the health conglomerate will turn around under its new CEO. - Additional reporting: Reuters, PA
