Equities still on track for strong gains

Stock markets around the world were little changed yesterday, paring early advances, though equities remained on track for a week of strong gains and Alibaba rallied in its trading debut.

The day’s early gains, which took the Dow and S&P 500 to fresh records, came after Scotland voted to remain in the UK, removing the risk that independence would diminish the Britain’s standing in the world and sow financial, economic and political uncertainty during months of negotiations.

DUBLIN

CRH

,

Bank of Ireland

, Paddy Power and Ryanair were among the most traded stocks on the Dublin market, which closed down 49 points or 1 per cent at 4,866.

CRH fell 2.2 per cent to €17.97 in Dublin, after its deletion from the Euro Stoxx 50 index. It was reported yesterday that the building materials giant is exploring a bid for the assets Lafarge and Holcim must sell to steer their mega-merger past competition watchdogs.

Shares in First Derivatives increased 3.4 per cent to €12.20, while Irish Residential Property REIT climbed 5.7 per cent to €1.12. C&C climbed 1.1 per cent to €4.32 on the back of the Scottish referendum vote. The drinks group owns the Tennents lager brand in Scotland.

Shares in Petroceltic plunged 4 per cent to €2.11.

LONDON

Scotland’s vote to maintain Britain’s union sent UK stocks higher, with the FTSE 100 Index coming close to its 1999 peak.

Traders welcomed the margin of victory for the No camp as the top flight index rose 18.6 points to 6837.9, driven by a rally for companies that are based in Scotland or have significant interests there.

Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds, which have the biggest lending operations in Scotland among UK peers, rose 2.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively.

Standard Life advanced to its highest price since May 2013.

Oil-services company John Wood Group, among the stocks Credit Suisse named as vulnerable in case of a Yes vote, rose 2.3 per cent.

EUROPE

European stocks rose as Scotland voted to reject independence from the UK, while the regional benchmark index failed to hold on to a 6 1/2-year high amid the expiry of derivative contracts.

SAP retreated 3.8 per cent to €57.63. The company fell the most since January 2013 after agreeing to buy Concur Technologies.

Sulzer AG lost 4.3 per cent after people familiar with the plan said Siemens AG may make an offer for Dresser-Rand.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained 0.2 per cent to 348.52, after earlier rallying as much as 0.9 per cent.

The CAC 40 fell 0.1 per cent, with traders citing speculation that a major credit rating agency was going to cut France’s rating. Germany’s DAX Index was little changed.

US

Stocks fluctuated, with benchmark indexes at records, as Alibaba began to trade at 36 per cent above its offer price.

The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.1 per cent to reach an all-time high at just after noon in New York, paring earlier advances.

Alibaba opened at $92.70 after selling shares at $68 in its initial public offering that raised $21.8 billion, the biggest US flotation ever.

Dresser-Rand rallied 10 per cent in early trading as Siemens reportedly prepared to offer more than $6.5 billion for the company. Oracle slid 4.8 per cent after Larry Ellison stepped down as chief executive officer. Concur Technologies jumped 18 per cent to $127.20 as SAP agreed to buy it for $7.4 billion to boost its cloud-computing business. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters