Advances in Europe after major players announce results

Stocks rose as European firms reported positive earnings and Wall Street rallied after US president Donald Trump pledged to publish his tax plan in coming weeks.

DUBLIN

The Irish market followed positive trends in Europe, with a number of index heavyweights leading the way.

International building materials giant CRH rose 1.39 per cent to €32.22 after more than one million of its shares were traded. Bank of Ireland gained 1.27 per cent to 24 cent.

Ryanair climbed 3 per cent to €14.44 . The airline issued a €750 million bond this week and also reported results showing profits had dipped but traffic and revenues rose.

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The market's real estate investments trusts (REITs) rose. Green REIT added 1.03 per cent to €1.369. Hibernia REIT added 1.21 per cent to €1.26. Apartment owner Irish Residential Properties REIT made 0.34 per cent to end the day at €1.195. Dealers said few stocks fell yesterday. Packaging group Smurfit Kappa shed 1.62 per cent to close at €24.87.

LONDON Investors left Thomas Cook nursing a hefty fall after the travel giant said it was cautious for 2017 and revealed a blow from intense competition to popular Spanish island resorts. The firm was the biggest faller on the second tier – dropping nearly 8 per cent to 84.9

p.

On the top tier, the FTSE 100 closed up 40.68 points to 7,229.5 thanks to a strong performance from financial stocks, with Royal Bank of Scotland up more than 2 per cent to 233.1p. Standard Life rose 2.3 per cent to 365.4p, while Barclays climbed 2.04 per cent to 229.6p.

DFS pushed higher after it said sales continued to rise in the first half of the year and it is well-positioned to weather any potential dip in consumer confidence. Shares were up 0.9 per cent to 231p, as the Doncaster-based group said it is working to mitigate the impact of the weak pound by negotiating better deals with suppliers.

EUROPE

European shares ended at their highest level in two weeks yesterday, with some major companies such as France’s second-biggest listed bank

Société Générale

and oil major

Total

advancing after their results.

Eutelsat also surged, up 8.2 per cent to lead gainers on the STOXX 600, after the telecommunication services firm's first-half revenue fell less than expected. It also forecast higher internet and mobile satellite sales and planned to buy a Viasat satellite.

Shares in Société Générale rose 2.3 per cent after the French bank reported better than anticipated net income in the final three months of last year and said it would float a stake in its booming vehicle leasing unit ALD.

Total gained 1.3 per cent after the company also reported better than expected fourth-quarter net profits, thanks to cost savings that enabled it to raise its dividend. Total said it was hunting for opportunities to buy assets from struggling rivals. Commerzbank fell 1.8 per cent after the German lender said it expected net profit to remain low this year. Germany's second-largest lender behind Deutsche Bank, however, beat quarterly profit forecasts.

NEW YORK

Wall Street’s three main indexes surged to fresh record highs yesterday after President Donald Trump said he would make a major tax announcement in a few weeks.

Shares of Viacom, Kellogg and Prudential all gained after their respective quarterly results. Coca-Cola forecast a surprise drop in full-year profit. Its shares fell 1.8 per cent. Twitter tumbled 12.3 per cent after the social network reported its slowest quarterly revenue growth since going public in 2013. Intel shares fell 2.5 percent, dragging on the

Dow and the S&P, as the chipmaker held its annual analyst day. Airline stocks rose, with JetBlue, Delta and American Airlines up more than 2 per cent, after Trump's meeting with airline executives. – (Additonal reporting: Reuters)