Scrappy day of trading on Iseq Index as US market enjoys half day

The pound struggled to find direction on Friday, despite solid data showing a rise in business investment, service sector growth and retail sales. Sterling was flat against the dollar to 1.245, but fell 0.4 per cent against the euro to 1.174.

One Dublin analyst described it as a “scrappy sort of a day” with plenty of volatility as traders were influenced by the US markets enjoying a half day following Thanksgiving on Thursday.

Dublin

The Iseq Index finished the day down 0.21 per cent to 6,279.69. Drinks company C&C was up more than 2.5 per cent with a volume of 160,000 shares.

Oil prices static on uncertainty over planned production cut

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European shares steady as metal prices rise

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Irish two-year bond yield at record low as ECB commits to stimulus

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Dollar steadies as Trump expected to boost growth

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Bank of Ireland was still down on the day but has been very steady around the 21 cents level with reasonable volume. Ryanair was pretty much unchanged, while there was a little bit of support for CRH which finished just below €32 with light volume.

There was significant interest in Kerrygroup which finished the day up 1 per cent with a 300,000 volume for its €66 stock. Kingspan had a volatile day but finished up trading at €24.53 a share.

Bookmaker Paddy Power finished the day down 2 per cent, while there was also bad news for Denis O’Brien-controlled Independent News and Media. It finished the day weakly, down 4 per cent, although there was not much volume. “It’s generally a stock that’s been under a bit of pressure,” noted an analyst.

London

The FTSE 100 closed higher by 0.17 per cent or 11.55 points to reach 6,840.75 points. That is despite Britain’s economic growth having been confirmed at 0.5 per cent in the third quarter, as business investment and service sector output rose in the months following the EU referendum.

Across Europe, the French Cac 40 and German Dax closed higher, up 0.17 per cent and 0.09 per cent, respectively.

In oil markets, Brent crude prices dropped 2.6 per cent to $47.55 per barrel as investors questioned the likelihood that a deal to cut or freeze oil supply could be reached at next week’s Opec meeting in Vienna. Output restrictions would help buoy oil prices.

Sky shares topped the FTSE 100, rising 19.5p to 787p, after four of its non-executive directors bought nearly 20,000 shares in the company. Next in line were AstraZeneca shares, which jumped 91.5p to 4,301.5p, as Liberum upgraded its stock to “buy” from “hold”.

Away from the top tier, Fastjet shares dropped 1.88p to 14.12p as the loss-making airline’s chairman announced his departure amid news that the company will be forced to raise fresh funding.

The biggest risers on the FTSE 100 were Sky up 29.5p to 787p, AstraZeneca up 91.5p to 4,301.5p, Unilever up 53p to 3,173p, and National Grid up 13.5p to 923.4p.

The biggest fallers were Standard Life down 7.8p to 345.8p, Glencore down 5.3p to 283.3p, DCC down 100p to 6,100p, and Lloyds Banking Group down 0.91p to 58.77p.

Europe

European shares rose slightly on Friday, nearing their highest level in more than two weeks, as the market was supported by a rally in drugmakers on hopes of tie-up activity in the sector.

Actelion surged 16.8 per cent to a record high after the Swiss biotechnology firm confirmed a report of a takeover approach from Johnson & Johnson, which also said discussions were under way.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended up 0.2 per cent. It gained 1 per cent this week after rising in the previous two weeks. The index is up 2.3 per cent since Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the US presidential election.

Gains in the broader market were capped by weaker commodities stocks. The European oil and gas index fell 0.6 per cent, as oil prices were dragged down by uncertainty over whether the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will reach an output deal.

Miners fell 0.9 per cent on a drop in major industrial metals, with Anglo American and Glencore both declining more than 1.5 per cent. Elsewhere, Daily Mail and General Trust slumped 4.3 per cent after Barclays lowered its rating on the stock to “underweight” from “equal weight” and cut its target price to 705 pence from 715 pence.

Italian bank Monte dei Paschi di Siena fell 13 per cent on doubts it would find buyers for a €5 billion share sale that is expected to be launched just after a referendum on Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s constitutional reform plan.

New York

Following a break on Thursday for Thanksgiving Day in the US, Wall Street’s three main indexes closed at record highs on Friday, helped by gains in consumer staples and technology stocks as investors hunted for bargains in a post-election rally.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 68.96 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 19,152.14, the S&P 500 gained 8.61 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 2,213.33 and the Nasdaq Composite added 18.24 points, or 0.34 per cent, to 5,398.92.

The S&P 500 consumer staples sector gave the broader index its biggest boost, rising 0.75 per cent, led by gains in Procter & Gamble and Coca-Cola.

“People are looking for value in the market. While many stocks have risen quite brusquely, investors are looking for some forgotten names in the rally,” said an analyst. “These orphaned stocks are being hunted today.”

(Agencies)