European shares fell on Wednesday as lacklustre earnings reports from big players including French cosmetics giant L’Oreal and Birkin bag maker Hermès concerned investors.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index ended the session at 11,661.52, rising 0.52 per cent.
Food group Glanbia ended up 2.06 per cent, the largest increase of the big caps.
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Healthcare services group Uniphar rose 1.52 per cent and Ryanair soared 0.75 per cent.
In a strong performance by the home builders, Cairn Homes rose 1.69 per cent, while Glenveagh Properties surged 0.99 per cent, and Ires REIT ended up 0.64 per cent.
Bank of Ireland rose 1.18 per cent to end at €13.35, while PTSB ended up 0.88 per cent to €2.30 and AIB was flat.
Titanium minerals miner Kenmare Resources fell 0.66 per cent to €3.02, and insurance group FBD dropped 0.70 per cent to €14.20.
LONDON
London stocks rose for a third straight day on Wednesday as investors ramped up bets on interest rate cuts from the Bank of England after data showed that inflation had unexpectedly held steady.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 1 per cent, while the mid-cap focused FTSE 250 advanced 1.4 per cent.
Barclays advanced 5 per cent among the top movers on the FTSE 100 index after announcing a surprise £500 million (€576 million) share buyback and upgrading a key profitability target for the year. This boosted the bank’s index by 1.5 per cent.
Inflation for the month of September was held at 3.8 per cent, below the Bank of England’s estimates of 4 per cent and raising bets on a rate cut this year.
Traders see a roughly 75 per cent chance that the BoE’s Monetary Policy Committee will cut the bank rate to 3.75 per cent from 4 per cent at its December meeting.
Oil majors BP and Shell gained 1.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, as oil prices edged higher.
On the flip side, ITV shares slid 7.8 per cent after the broadcaster said its largest shareholder Liberty Global reduced its stake to 5 per cent from 10 per cent in the company. The stock was the worst performer in the FTSE 250.
EUROPE
The continent-wide Stoxx 600 index closed 0.2 per cent lower as the technology stocks dragged heavily on the European benchmark index, down 1.4 per cent.
Semiconductor-linked stocks including ASM International, ASML and STMicroelectronics dipped after a dour quarterly update from US peer Texas Instruments.
L’Oreal fell 6.7 per cent after the company reported weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales, and Hermes lost 2.3 per cent after its outlook for a slight improvement in key market China failed to excite investors.
Both stocks weighed on the personal and household goods sector, while the broader luxury index declined 1.2 per cent.
Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk fell 3.24 per cent after a shuffle of its board.
NEW YORK
Wall Street slipped in midafternoon on Wednesday, with Netflix’s weak profit weighing on sentiment as investors monitored a flood of corporate earnings to get clarity in a high-stakes reporting season.
Shares of Netflix dropped on Wednesday after the streaming giant’s fourth-quarter revenue outlook failed to excite investors. Texas Instruments fell after lower-than-expected revenue and profit forecasts from the chipmaker.
Peers Microchip Technology, ON Semiconductor lost and Analog Devices dropped. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index was down from an all-time high on Monday.
With equities hovering near record highs and valuations stretched thin, investors need more than earnings beats to justify lofty price tags.
All eyes will be on Tesla as it kicks off the ‘Magnificent Seven’ earnings line-up after the closing bell. The Mag Seven collectively account for close to 35 per cent of the S&P 500’s total market capitalisation.
AT&T added more wireless subscribers than expected for the third quarter, but its shares fell.– Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
