Global markets rally as traders expect interest rates to peak soon

A gauge of global stocks rallied and bond yields inched higher on Tuesday as traders anticipate interest rates will soon peak, even as the market bets the Federal Reserve will tighten monetary policy further in May to tame inflation.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin outperformed many of its international peers as it finished the day up 1.7 per cent on the back of strong rallies from some of its big hitters.

Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment climbed 3 per cent. “That seemed to be a standout move, although one of the peers 888 was up 9 per cent on the day,” said one trader.

Elsewhere, budget airline Ryanair was up 2 per cent at close of business, while insulation specialist Kingspan ended the day up 2.3 per cent.

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Meanwhile, box-maker Smurfit Kappa finished up 2.5 per cent. “There was some positive broker commentary on Smurfit today and that pushed them on a bit,” noted a trader. “Some of the peers like DS Smith were also high so there was sectoral movement there as well.”

It was a mixed bag in the food sector, however, as Kerry Group climbed 2 per cent while agri-services group Origin Enterprises ended the day down 1.5 per cent.

Among the financial names, AIB and Bank of Ireland were unchanged on the day with trading volumes still light following the Easter weekend.

London

Shares in London rose with the FTSE 100 up 0.6 per cent as traders returned from the long weekend in a buoyant mood.

In company news, 10-pin bowling operator Hollywood Bowl said that it had made a record £111 million (€126 million) in revenues in the six months to the end of March. Shares initially rose on Tuesday morning, but ended up closing down by 0.4 per cent.

Elsewhere, Cineworld filed a restructuring plan in US bankruptcy court on Tuesday, setting out a plan that will wipe out shareholders.

The business hopes to fix its $5 billion pile of debt before it exits bankruptcy proceedings in the country, but shareholders will be left without “any recovery”, the business said. Shares dipped by more than 35 per cent.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Rio Tinto, up 260p to 5,555p; Antofagasta, up 71.5p to 1,551.5p; Anglo American, up 108.5p to 2,709p; Glencore, up 14.9p to 472.25p; and Flutter Entertainment, up 470p to 15,210p.

The biggest fallers were Beazley, down 9.5p to 593p; Unite Group, down 15.0p to 964p; London Stock Exchange, down 94.0p to 7,928p; Haleon, down 3.9p to 346.7p; and GSK, down 16.6p to 1,506.4p.

Europe

On the continent, stock indices continued to rise despite the IMF expecting global growth to slow from 3.4 per cent in 2022 to a downwardly revised 2.8 per cent this year.

The Cac 40 in Paris rose by 1 per cent, hitting an all-time high during the day, while Germany’s Dax index was also in the green, up 0.4 per cent.

MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.35 per cent and the pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.56 per cent.

New York

The benchmark S&P 500 edged higher, with economy-sensitive energy and material stocks leading gains ahead of Wednesday’s inflation data that is likely to determine the US Federal Reserve’s next policy move.

Losses in megacap stocks such as Microsoft and Amazon weighed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq as US treasury yields crept higher, while gains in industrial stocks such as Caterpillar boosted the Dow.

Shares of crypto-related companies such as Coinbase Global, Riot Platforms and Marathon Digital Holdings climbed between 8 per cent and 12 per cent as bitcoin breached the key $30,000 level for the first time in 10 months.

CarMax rallied 11.4 per cent as the used-car retailer reported a quarterly profit that beat estimates.

Moderna fell 4.3 per cent as the company said its closely watched flu vaccine did not meet the criteria for early success in a late-stage trial. – Additional reporting: agencies