Markets

Dublin bucks downward trend in Europe, while Wall Street gains

US investors digested a spate of earnings reports and comments from the Federal Reserve that interest rates may start to fall this year.

US investors digested a spate of earnings reports and comments from the Federal Reserve that interest rates may start to fall this year. Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg

Ellen O’Regan
Wed Feb 7 2024 - 18:05

Euronext Dublin outperformed European peers on Wednesday, logging gains while other markets across the Continent were in the red.

In the US, Wall Street’s indices rose as investors digested a spate of earnings reports and comments from the Federal Reserve that interest rates may start to fall this year.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin gained 0.92 per cent on Wednesday, to close at 9,144.64.

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Among the banks, AIB fell by 1.26 per cent to €3.92, and Permanent TSB lost 0.90 per cent to close at €1.65. On the upside, Bank of Ireland gained 0.77 per cent, to close at €8.08.

Packaging giant Smurfit Kappa saw shares rise 3.42 per cent, to €34.82, as it signalled its planned acquisition of US rival WestRock in a $21 billion-plus (€19.5 billion-plus) deal would close in early July this year.

Publishing results for 2023 on Wednesday, Smurfit Kappa said revenues and profits both fell last year, but results were still “the second best” in the company’s 90-year history.

Home builder Cairn Homes gained 1.83 per cent to close at €1.45, and peer Glenveagh Properties was flat at €1.20. Meanwhile, building materials company Kingspan rose by 3.28 per cent to €76.88.

Ryanair rose by 0.48 per cent to close at €19.84, as the airline won a European Union court challenge on Wednesday, against the EU’s approval of €3.4 billion in state aid for rival Air France-KLM.

Food company Kerry Group rose by 0.77 per cent to €81.32, while peer Glanbia gained 0.80 per cent to €16.30.

London

The UK’s export heavy FTSE 100 Index edged down on Wednesday, falling by 0.68 per cent to close at 7,628.75. Meanwhile, the more domestically focused FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index fell by 0.35 per cent to close at 19,104.53.

Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s fell by 6.06 per cent to the bottom of the FTSE 100 as it announced plans to cut a further £1 billion (€1.17 billion) in costs over the next three years.

Barratt Developments fell by 5.47 per cent after the residential property development company agreed to buy home builder Redrow for about £2.52 billion. Redrow shares climbed 14.75 per cent, to the top of the FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index.

Soap maker PZ Cussons dropped 16.41 per cent to the bottom of the mid-cap index after it forecast lower annual profit and slashed its interim dividend.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 Index fell by 0.3 per cent on Wednesday, to close at 485.30. At the same time, the French CAC 40 Index fell by 0.36 per cent to 7,611.26, and the German DAX Index was down 0.65 per cent to close at 16,921.96.

Shares of Vestas Wind rose by 6.36 per cent to the top of the Stoxx after the Danish wind turbine maker beat fourth-quarter operating earnings forecasts.

Carlsberg gained 4.02 per cent, after the Danish brewer reported revenue growth of 4.7 per cent on Wednesday, in advance of estimates.

TeamViewer’s shares jumped 5.42 per cent after the German software developer reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter revenue and earnings.

Equinor shed 7.76 per cent after the Norwegian oil and gas producer said it would cut its overall cash returns to shareholders this year by $3 billion.

New York

Wall Street’s three main indices gained on Wednesday, as investors took stock of big earnings reports from the likes of Ford and Snapchat owner Snap, and Federal Reserve comments that interest rates may be lowered in 2024.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston president Susan Collins said on Wednesday that if the economy meets her expectations the central bank will likely be able to lower rates at some point later this year.

Ford Motor Company gained after the automaker increased its first-quarter dividend and decided to scale back investments in new capacity for loss-making electric vehicles.

On the flip side, Snap slumped more than 30 per cent on missing quarterly revenue estimates, as the Snapchat owner struggled to compete for advertising dollars against heavyweights such as Meta and Alphabet.

Uber Technologies saw gains as it forecast quarterly core profit and gross bookings above estimates.

Enphase Energy surged as the solar inverter maker expects inventory levels to normalise and demand for its products to pick up by the end of second quarter.

Additional reporting by Reuters.

Ellen O'Regan

Ellen O’Regan

Ellen O’Regan is an Irish Times journalist.

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