Iseq falls 1.6 per cent in ‘nervous’ day’s trading

It was another day of gains on European stocks after the European Central Bank said interest rates would remain low. US markets, back from their July 4th holiday, also performed well, ending its second weekly gain in a row.

Dublin
Following what was described by one analyst as a nervous day's trading, the Iseq index tumbled 1.6 per cent. CRH finished down 4 per cent, under pressure with little perceived growth opportunity.

Ryanair closed down almost 3 per cent, although with good volume and slightly higher than its competitors in what overall was a poor day for the aviation industry, blamed on rising oil prices.

Smurfit stock had been up but closed at the lower end of where it was trading, at €12.73, down from €12.75 on Thursday. It had dropped as low as €12.65.

C&C too found itself under pressure, although there was good volume trading earlier in the day, but ultimately closed down 4.5 per cent.

IFG finished 2.3 per cent lower, having traded as low as €1.30.

London
UK stocks declined, paring their biggest weekly gain in six months.

The FTSE 100 index slid 46.15 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 6,375.52 at the close of trading in London, paring its weekly advance to 2.6 per cent, the most since January 4th.

The index has still lost 6.8 per cent since the Federal Reserve signalled it may start to taper its stimulus program if the US economy improves in line with its forecasts. The FTSE All-Share index slipped 0.7 per cent.

BHP Billiton retreated 3.6 per cent to 1,666.5 pence and Rio Tinto dropped 4.4 per cent to 2,636 pence.

A gauge of mining shares in the FTSE 350 tumbled 4.6 per cent, the most in two weeks. Fresnillo declined 5.8 per cent to 886.5 pence as the price of silver, the metal it produces, fell in London.

Whitbread slipped 2.8 per cent to 3,106 pence after UBS lowered its recommendation on the shares to neutral from buy, saying the retailer's new initiatives do not change the near- term earnings outlook.

A gauge of banking shares in the FTSE 350 index reversed earlier gains, declining 0.5 per cent. Standard Chartered fell 1.8 per cent to 1,470 pence and Royal Bank of Scotland Group lost 2.6 per cent to 276.7 pence.

Europe
European stocks rose for a second week as the ECB and the Bank of England said interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 1.2 per cent to 288.31 this week. The equity benchmark has pared its retreat from its 2013 high on May 22nd to 7.2 per cent. The Stoxx 600 declined 3 per cent in the second quarter.

National benchmark indexes rose in 15 of the 18 western European markets this week. France’s CAC 40 climbed 0.4 per cent. Germany’s DAX index slid 1.9 per cent. Portugal’s PSI 20 index retreated 2.7 per cent this week as the country’s government lost the leader of its junior coalition partner.

Peugeot rose 12 per cent after analysts at Goldman Sachs said the unprofitable company will probably beat its goal of reducing cash consumption.

Valeo advanced 11 per cent. The second-biggest maker of car parts in France said it expects sales in China to double every four years.

Nokia gained 9.1 per cent after it agreed to buy Siemens' share in their joint venture for €1.7 billion, giving the Finnish company full access to the phone equipment maker's cashflow for a less-than-estimated price.

New York
Stocks rose yesterday sending the Standard and Poor's 500 index toward its second straight weekly gain, after government data showed the nation added more jobs than forecast last month.

The Standard and Poor 500 gained 0.6 per cent to 1,625.19 by lunchtime in New York. The benchmark index is up 1.2 per cent for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 85.46 points, or 0.6 per cent, to 15,074.01.

Lincoln, the life insurer with more than $200 billion in assets, climbed 4.1 per cent to $38.48.

MetLife, the largest US life insurer, gained 2.4 per cent to $47.36. Regional Banks Regional lenders rose as KeyCorp, Ohio's second-largest bank, jumped 3.3 per cent to $11.80.

Tesla Motors added 2.8 per cent to $118.41 after saying it received sufficient orders for its new Model S saloon to double the number of electric cars on Hong Kong's streets. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg)