No big change in markets after bailout

THE IRISH market was slightly down at the end of the day after light trading in the morning. International markets took a similar tone where, despite the news on a second Greek bailout, there was no great change in markets or huge degree of optimism.

DUBLIN

IN DUBLIN Kerry Group’s results were well received, although its stock closed down just under 0.97 per cent or 0.3 cent at €30.8 on low volumes.

With the company’s stock up by about 10 per cent in the last week, however, the results indicate buyers had taken a positive view even before the results.

Aer Lingus hit 0.94 cent, nearing its previous highs. Stock of the airline closed up 0.01 cent or 1.08 per cent at 0.93 cent.

Ryanair stock, meanwhile, saw a big sell-off for most of the day with the share closing down 0.05 cent or 1.26 per cent to close at €4.16

Stocks bucking the downward trend included Bank of Ireland, which traded up marginally by 1.37 per cent to close at 0.14 cent, holding gains on Monday from well received results.

Grafton Group continued to make progress and finished up by 3.29 per cent or 0.10 cent to close at €3.30 on light volumes of about 30,000 shares.

FBD also continued to make gains, closing up 3.36 per cent at €8.01.

The big mover, however, was Kenmare Resources, which rose by 8.31 per cent to close at 0.73 cent on foot of mergers and acquisitions rumours in the sector.

LONDON

BRITAIN’S TOP share index edged lower yesterday, with investors taking profit on banks and the cyclicals after Greece secured a long-awaited bailout deal.

London’s blue chip index closed down 17.05 points, or 0.3 per cent at 5,928.20, retreating from a seven-month closing high it reached on Monday.

Low turnover underlined investors’ cautious mood, with volumes on the FTSE 100 coming in at 93 per cent of the 90-day average.

Shell was one of the few gainers on the FTSE, up 0.8 per cent, as higher oil and metal prices boosted energy firms and miners.

Banks were the biggest weight on the FTSE, with Barclays down 1.3 per cent and RBS 1 per cent lower. Cyclical companies, which do well at times of economic strength, also suffered, with International Airlines Group and advertiser WPP each off 2 per cent.

EUROPE

EUROPEAN STOCKS fell from a six-month high amid speculation a Greek bailout deal would not be sufficient to solve the nation’s debt crisis.

CSM, the world’s biggest maker of bakery ingredients, tumbled 9.7 per cent after reporting an unexpected loss. National Bank of Greece led declines in financial shares, falling 9.5 per cent to €2.68, after three days of gains.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.5 per cent to 266.78 at 4:37pm in London. The gauge has still rallied 24 per cent since September 22nd amid speculation that the European sovereign-debt crisis would be contained and as US economic data exceeded forecasts. The measure rose for a fourth day yesterday, climbing to the highest level since July 26th.

National benchmark indexes dropped in all of the western European markets, led by Greece’s ASE, which sank 3.5 per cent.

Intesa Sanpaolo dropped 2.2 per cent to €1.53 in Milan. Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest lender, fell 1.7 per cent to €33.98.

US

US STOCKS rose, with the Dow briefly topping 13,000 for the first time since May 2008 after Greece secured a bailout to avoid a March default, but gains were limited as investors had priced in expectations of a deal.

“This is the most solid agreement Greece has had, with actual money behind it, and that makes the market optimistic,” said Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at PFG Best in Chicago.

At midday the Dow Jones industrial average was up 47.00 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 12,996.87. The Standard Poor’s 500 Index added 5.33 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 1,366.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index rose 10.02 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 2,961.80.

Wal-Mart Stores lost 3.8 per cent to $60.07 and was the top drag on both the Dow and SP after its quarterly profit came in short of expectations.

Home Depot climbed 1.6 per cent to $47.44 after the home improvement chain’s quarterly profit beat estimates.

Apple was up 2.3 per cent to $513.52 after the US International Trade Commission ruled the iPhone maker did not infringe patented technology owned by Android phonemaker HTC Corp.

The earnings season continued to wind down this week, with 59 companies scheduled to report.

According to Thomson Reuters data through yesterday morning, of the 418 companies in the SP 500 that have reported earnings, 64 per cent have topped analyst expectations.