US banking sector concerns sparked a sell off in Europe with major banking stocks in Ireland and the UK tumbling, including Bank of Ireland, AIB, and Barclays.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index ended the session down 1.83 per cent on 11,438.22.
Few of the big stocks ended in the black. Kerry Group was one, ending the day 0.78 per cent firmer on €77.45, alongside healthcare services group Uniphar plc, which was up 0.13 per cent. Irish Ferries brand owner Irish Continental Group also went against the tide to close 0.34 per cent ahead.
The losses were led by Bank of Ireland and AIB which fell 5.7 per cent and 3.47 per cent respectively amid fears over credit quality in US regional banks which rippled through markets on Friday. Permanent TSB Group got off more lightly, falling 0.43 per cent to end the week on €2.29.
READ MORE
Listed home builders also suffered, all ending in the red. Cairn Homes was down 2.07 per cent to €1.896. Glenveagh Properties was off 0.87 per cent and Irish Residential Properties REIT fell 1.07 per cent.
Further share price drops came from wind and solar energy group Greencoat Renewables – down 2.62 per cent – and titanium minerals miner Kenmare Resources, which shed another 2.5 per cent at the end of a difficult week for the group.
LONDON
London’s benchmark index hit a two-week low on Friday, weighed down by losses in heavyweight lenders that joined a global sell-off in financial stocks.
The benchmark FTSE 100 ended down 0.9 per cent at 9,353 points. Though off its session lows, the index still marked its second consecutive week in the red.
The banks index shed 3.1 per cent. HSBC, Barclays and Standard Chartered fell 3 per cent, 5.4 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively as investors revived memories of the crisis of confidence that shook sentiment just over two years ago.
Defensive sectors were among those in positive territory, with personal goods, beverages, personal care, drug & grocery and utilities reflecting the cautious mood among investors.
The aerospace and defence index dropped 3.5 per cent, tracking losses in European counterparts.
Among other movers, precious metal miner Fresnillo slumped 11 per cent as gold and platinum prices tumbled. Pearson gained 2.5 per cent to the top of FTSE 100 as the education company expects stronger sales growth in the fourth quarter.
Man Group gained 6.3 per cent after the hedge fund’s growth in assets under management surpassed expectations.
EUROPE
The continent-wide STOXX 600 index closed nearly 1 per cent lower but still managed to log a modest weekly gain of 0.4 per cent.
European banks were down 2.5 per cent, with Deutsche Bank, Barclays, Italy’s UniCredit and France’s BNP Paribas all losing between 3.3 per cent and 6.5 per cent.
The flight to safety pushed gold to another record high of $4,378.69 per ounce.
Luxury stocks helped cushion the broader market as Ray-Ban maker, EssilorLuxottica jumped 13 per cent on investor enthusiasm for its AI-powered Ray-Ban Meta glasses.
Luxury was the best performing sector this week, powered by LVMH, which beat forecasts and reported its first quarterly sales rise this year.
Continental was up 11.3 per cent after the German auto supplier’s preliminary third-quarter sales came in at €5 billion – just in advance of its own consensus forecast.
NEW YORK
All three major US stock indices were struggling for direction in midafternoon trading on Friday, while gold pulled back from all-time highs after a record run.
Worries over potential systemic credit problems in the banking sector abated the day after Zions disclosed it would take a $50 million loan loss in the third quarter and Western Alliance initiated a lawsuit alleging fraud by an investment firm.
The KBW Regional Banking index advanced in a partial recovery from Thursday’s 5 per cent plunge.
Amid cooling of tariff rhetoric between Washington and Beijing, analysts now expect third-quarter S&P 500 earnings growth of 9.3 per cent year-on-year, up from 8.8 per cent as of October 1st, according to LSEG data. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
