Ryanair leads the charge as travel and leisure stocks soar

World shares rebounded on Tuesday as fears over the severity of the Omicron variant cooled around the world amid reports that Moderna’s vaccine provides strong protection.

DUBLIN

Euronext Dublin finished the day up 2.3 per cent on Tuesday as money flowed into the travel and leisure sector.

Ryanair was the standout performer, soaring 11 per cent, while Aer Lingus parent International Airlines Group and EasyJet were up 7 per cent and 5 per cent respectively.

"That may be down to a more dovish tone around Omicron in terms of hospitalisations and the severity of the disease," noted a trader. Elsewhere in the sector, Dalata – the largest hotel operator in the State – was up 8 per cent.

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Meanwhile, Paddy Power Betfair-parent Flutter Entertainment was up 3 per cent. "They were hit by unfavourable sporting results in the third quarter but that seems to have snapped back very favourably in November," according to a trader.

Among the banks AIB was up 0.5 per cent and Bank of Ireland was up 1.5 per cent following news that the State is to sell part of its 71.1 per cent remaining stake in AIB over the next six months.

There was green on the board for a number of other big names also as building materials group CRH added 2 per cent to its share price, while packaging company Smurfit Kappa and insulation specialist Kingspan climbed 1.5 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.

LONDON

The rebound in commodity and travel stocks drove UK shares higher, a day after the market hit a two-week low on concerns that surging cases of Omicron would spark fresh restrictions.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 1.4 per cent higher and the domestically-focussed Mid-Cap index gained 1.2 per cent.

Oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell rose nearly 1 per cent each, tracking higher crude prices, while industrial metal miners gained 2.2 per cent on an upswing in copper rates.

The travel and leisure sector leaped 3.2 per cent after losing 0.7 per cent in the previous session.

UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 has gained 13 per cent so far this year but has lagged behind its European and US peers.

EUROPE

European shares ended higher, recovering Monday’s losses, with a jump in commodity-linked and travel stocks offsetting concerns about the spread of the Omicron variant.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 added 1.4 per cent, with miners and oil stocks among the biggest winners amid higher copper and crude prices. Travel shares also gained.

Among stocks, semiconductor firm ASML Holding jumped 3.6 per cent to be the biggest boost on the benchmark European index after US chipmaker Micron Technology beat market expectations in its trading update..

Peers ASM International, Infineon Technologies and STMicroelectronics rose between 0.5 per cent and 1.6 per cent.

Sporting goods makers Adidas and Puma added 0.6 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively following Nike's quarterly upbeat.

Bollore leaped 11.5 per cent to the top of the Stoxx 600 after the conglomerate owned by billionaire Vincent Bollore's family received a $6.4 billion offer for its African logistics assets.

Sanofi gained 0.9 per cent after announcing it would buy Amunix Pharmaceuticals for about $1 billion.

NEW YORK

Wall Street’s main indexes rose more than 1 per cent, boosted by Nike and Micron following strong earnings, while beaten-down big technology stocks bounced back from an Omicron-driven rout in the previous session.

Nike rose 6.6 per cent, boosting the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It beat quarterly estimates for profit and revenue, and sounded confident of a let-up in supply chain problems in its next fiscal year.

Micron Technology, up 9.5 per cent, led the advance among chipmakers after it forecast upbeat second-quarter earnings and topped Wall Street expectations for quarterly profit and revenue.

Ten of the 11 major S&P 500 sectors rose in early trading, while the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index gained 1.7 per cent.

Mega-cap growth firms, including Tesla, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon.com, Meta Platforms and Alphabet rose between 0.4 per cent and 1.7 per cent after taking a beating on Monday. (Additional reporting: Agencies)