Investors in Europe take comfort from signs that rate rises are close to end

European shares locked in weekly gains on Friday, as better-than-expected Chinese data lifted luxury firms while investors took comfort from signs that the European Central Bank (ECB) is nearly done raising interest rates.

Dublin

The Irish index of shares was largely flat on Friday, gaining 0.13 per cent before the closing bell.

Among the gainers was Kingspan, whose shares rose 1.5 per cent to €72.26. That follows a 4.2 per cent increase the previous day, and comes after the company confirmed earlier this week it had had “informal” merger discussions with Arizona-based Carlisle, and said it would submit an offer for the remaining shares in Nordic Waterproofing after its holding went above 30 per cent.

Ryanair stock advanced almost 1.8 per cent to €16.64, while shares in Flutter Entertainment were up 2.4 per cent to €173.85.

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Irish banking shares lost some ground following a strong showing the previous day in the wake of another interest rate hike by the ECB. AIB shares were down almost 1.5 per cent, while Bank of Ireland shed 2 per cent and Permanent TSB stock was almost half a percentage point weaker.

London

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index climbed 0.5 per cent, logging its highest weekly gain since January 6th and hovering around its six-week high.

Tracking the metal prices higher, precious metal miners advanced 3.5 per cent, while industrial metal miners rose 1.4 per cent.

Data showed China’s factory output and retail sales grew at a faster pace in August, reflecting signs of stabilising parts in the wobbly economy.

Mid-cap stocks fell 0.6 per cent, led by a 10.2 per cent drop in British power generator Drax Group. Games Workshop Group surged 10.6 per cent after the miniature wargame maker forecast higher quarterly pretax profit.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.2 per cent to close at a five-week high, with luxury, mining and autos leading the sectoral gains.

French luxury names such as Gucci parent Kering and LVMH climbed 1.8 per cent and 2.5 per cent respectively after data showed China’s factory output and retail sales grew at a faster pace in August. The Stoxx 600 added 1.6 per cent for the week, with miners the top performers.

Among individual stocks, Sweden’s H&M shed 7.4 per cent on reporting flat sales in its most recent quarter, lagging expectations as the fashion group struggles to attract customers while the cost-of-living crisis drags on.

Dutch suppliers of semiconductor giant TSMC, such as ASML, ASMI and BE Semiconductor Industries, fell by between 3.5 per cent and 6.6 per cent after a Reuters report showed the Taiwanese firm has told its major suppliers to delay their deliveries of high-end chipmaking equipment.

New York

The Nasdaq fell more than 1 per cent on Friday to lead declines in Wall Street’s main indices as chipmakers fell on concerns over consumer demand, while rising treasury yields pressured major growth stocks.

Chip equipment makers Applied Materials, Lam Research and KLA Corp fell around 4 per cent each after Reuters reported TSMC had asked its major vendors to delay deliveries.

Other chipmakers including Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices, Broadcom and Micron Technology lost 1.6 per cent to 3.7 per cent, dragging the Philadelphia Semiconductor index to a three-week low.

Adobe dropped 4.1 per cent to a more than two-week low after the Photoshop software maker disclosed a commercial paper programme of up to $3 billion on September 8th following its third-quarter results.

SoftBank’s Arm Holdings gained 1.7 per cent after a stellar Nasdaq debut on Thursday that rekindled hopes of a turnaround in the initial public offering (IPO) market.

At 12.25pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 174.87 points, or 0.50 per cent, at 34,732.24, the S&P 500 was down 35.87 points, or 0.80 per cent, at 4,469.23, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 172.92 points, or 1.24 per cent, at 13,753.14. – Additional reporting: Reuters