European stocks snapped a three-day losing streak amid some better-than-expected earnings reports and investor speculation that poor economic data from around the world would persuade the Federal Reserve to put off raising rates for longer. In Ireland, the Iseq Overall Index closed up 1.5 per cent at 6,228.60.
DUBLIN
There were mixed fortunes for the two bank stocks listed on the main market.
Bank of Ireland
rose by 4.4 per cent to 35.6 cent, while
Permanent TSB
was down 2.4 per cent to €4.616. France’s Exane put out a research note yesterday favouring Bank of Ireland over PTSB.
Kerry Group closed up 1.2 per cent at €68.30 having hosted an investor day at its new facility in Naas. The food company announced three acquisitions in the US for a combined $735 million to be funded from existing lines of credit.
Other shares on the move included Cavan-based Kingspan, up 3 per cent at €21.65, and Ryanair which closed up almost 1 per cent to nudge above €13 for the first time in over a week.
LONDON
UK stocks rose for the first time this week, helped by gains in Hargreaves Lansdown Plc and Arm Holdings Plc. Those added at least 5 per cent each.
RBC Capital Markets LLC raised Hargreaves Lansdown to sector perform from underperform to reflect “impressive momentum,“ while Arm was boosted by takeover talk.
Burberry Group Plc was the leading decliner on the FTSE 100 Index, with the shares tumbling the most since 2012 after the UK luxury-goods maker indicated profit will probably decline for a second straight year after sales in Asia dropped.
The FTSE 100 rose 1.1 per cent to 6,338.67 at the close, trimming the week’s decline in the benchmark, driven by weak economic data out of China.
Before then, an eight-day rally was fuelled by gains in commodity producers and optimism the Fed won’t raise rates. The broader FTSE All-Share Index climbed 1 per cent .
EUROPE
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 1.5 per cent to 360.99 at the close of trading.
Unilever added 3.6 per cent after it posted better-than-estimated third-quarter sales growth.
ProSiebenSat.1 Media SE gained 3.3 per cent after raising its 2018 revenue and earnings outlook because of faster growth in all its businesses.
Man Group Plc climbed 5.2 per cent after the world’s largest publicly traded hedge fund firm reported net inflows of $1.4 billion for the third quarter, reversing two straight quarters of outflows.
Sulzer AG slipped 1.7 per cent after the Swiss maker of pumps said it is budgeting for a drop in earnings of as much as 15 per cent this year because of a slowdown in China and the oil- and-gas market.
Volkswagen retreated 3.6 per cent after the German government forced the carmaker to recall about 2.4 million diesel cars in its home market after rejecting its proposal for voluntary repairs.
TeliaSonera AB dropped 3 per cent after Muddy Waters LLC published a report questioning the extent of the Swedish phone carrier’s transparency regarding legal issues in its Eurasian business.
NEW YORK US stocks pared gains as commodity shares declined with oil, while investors reassessed the strength of the economy data on consumer prices and signs of continued progress in the labour market.
The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index gained 0.2 per cent to 1,997.99 at 11:57 am in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26.39 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 16,951.14. The Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 0.3 percent.
HCA Holdings shares sank 6.7 per cent to $70.96 in early trading after the for-profit hospital operator said its third-quarter profit was likely to miss estimates.
Netflix slid 7.5 per cent to $101.92 after it said US subscriber additions were below expectations for the third quarter.
– Additional reporting by Bloomberg and Reuters
