Global markets rise despite fears of more interest rate hikes

Global stock markets rose on Tuesday while shares on Wall Street were mixed after United States retail sales rose less than expected in June but consumers boosted or maintained spending elsewhere, raising the odds the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates next week.

Dublin

At home, the Iseq Overall Index finished the day up 0.4 per cent, which was largely in line with international peers.

The big performer on the day was insulation specialist Kingspan, which was up 2.1 per cent following news after the close of the market on Monday night that it is set to take a majority holding in German building envelope firm Steico in a deal worth an initial €251.4 million.

The company also issued an unexpected trading update last week in which is said it expects to report record profits for the first half of the year.

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“It has traded in pretty large volumes today and is way in advance of where it was just five or six trading days ago before it released its ad hoc trading statement,” said a trader. “It’s up about 25 per cent since then.”

The stock may also have benefited from a rally in UK house names, which also helped lift the sector here. Cairn Homes was up 1.5 per cent, while building materials giant CRH and Woodies DIY parent, Grafton Group, were up 1 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively.

On the downside, Ryanair fell 1 per cent by close of business, lagging its peer EasyJet which climbed 1 per cent.

Among the financial names, AIB and Bank of Ireland outperformed the market slightly, rising 60 basis points and 75 basis points respectively. Elsewhere, Kerry Group was up 40 basis points and box-maker Smurfit Kappa climbed 80 basis points.

London

Shares finished higher in London after a strong session for housebuilders and a positive opening on Wall Street.

[ Shares fall as luxury sector hit by weak Richemont earnings ]

The FTSE 100 climbed 0.64 per cent to reach its highest close for two weeks as property giants Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt were carried higher by hopes that interest rates could peak sooner than expected as market expectations remained steady.

In company news, Darktrace shares jumped after it said a probe into its finances has closed and reported a jump in customers amid the evolving “ChatGPT era”.

The FTSE 250-listed firm told investors that the independent review led by accounting giant Ernst & Young launched in February had concluded. Investors cheered the news, sending its shares up 81.7p to 375.7p as a result.

Elsewhere, online retail firm Ocado’s shares were up 110.6p at 691.6p at the close after the group swung to an underlying profit and said its retail arm is on track to post annual earnings amid mounting pressure from its joint venture partner Marks & Spencer.

Europe

All major European markets had stronger afternoon trading as the main US indices opened higher despite a mixed bag of banking updates.

The pan-regional Stoxx 600 index rose 0.61 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.36 per cent.

Germany’s Dax index was 0.41 per cent higher for the day while the Cac 40 closed up 0.46 per cent.

New York

The major US stock indices were mixed, with the S&P 500 and Dow Industrials rising and the Nasdaq falling, in a sign investors are shifting investments away from the tech-oriented megacap stocks that have dominated returns this year. Microsoft, Amazon and Apple led the Nasdaq lower.

The Dow and the S&P 500, meanwhile, crept higher after some of the top US lenders, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, reported upbeat earnings for the second quarter.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.05 per cent, the S&P 500 gained 0.37 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.13 per cent. – Additional reporting: Agencies