Markets

Main stock markets produce mixed results

Irish index down as Ryanair shares fall by 2.3%, along with Kerry and Glanbia

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary at a recent press conference. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw

Tue Oct 24 2017 - 20:33

Shares of Apple suppliers were boosted by robust results from chipmaker AMS on Tuesday, but European shares were little changed as investors awaited the European Central Bank meeting later this week.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average opened at a record high and rallied in early trading on strong earnings.

DUBLIN

The Iseq fell 0.7 per cent, weighed down by a 2.3 per cent decline for Ryanair. The airline closed at €15.65, after it said it would delay plans to force non-priority customers to place second larger carry-on bags in the hold to allow passengers "more time to familiarise themselves with the changes".

Insurer FBD soared more than 11 per cent to €8.90 after Davy Research reiterated its "outperform" rating on the stock in a note, and said its improving performance would more than offset the €2.5 million net cost of payouts related to Storm Ophelia.

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Food groups Glanbia and Kerry were among the fallers, declining 1.8 per cent to €16.24, and 1 per cent to €83.30 respectively, while Paddy Power Betfair slipped 3.3 per cent to €83.67 on low volume. However, building materials group CRH, the largest stock on the index, nudged up 0.2 per cent to €31.69.

LONDON

The FTSE 100 index of blue-chips finished flat. Hotel and coffee shop operator Whitbread proved a drag on the market, as concerns about the signs of a Brexit impact on the business in its latest financial results led to a 4.9 per cent drop in its share price.

On the positive side, Antofagasta, up 2.8 per cent, was the biggest gainer among commodity stocks after Barclays raised its price target on the stock. Shares in RSA Insurance rose as much as 2 per cent after JP Morgan raised its rating on the stock to "overweight" from "neutral".

Troubled small cap Carillion rose 6.3 per cent after saying it had agreed new credit facilities and deferrals on some debt repayments, as well as disposing part of its UK healthcare business to Serco.

EUROPE

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the day down 0.4 per cent, although the German, French, Italian and Spanish indexes all rose. In Germany, the Dax closed up 0.1 per cent, while in France, the Cac 40 finished up 0.15 per cent.

Austria-based AMS jumped 22 per cent after reporting third-quarter sales just under expectations. Analysts said strong fourth-quarter guidance from the Apple supplier offset the miss on sales.

Banco Sabadell, Caixabank and Santander led Spain's Ibex higher after Caixa reported the flow of deposits out of the bank had slowed since it moved its headquarters out of Catalonia.

Euro zone banks rose 1.3 per cent, their strongest daily gain in more than a fortnight as Commerzbank also made strong gains. The German lender's shares jumped 6 per cent after sources said it hired Goldman Sachs and Rothschild to help defend it against potential takeover bids.

US

Wall Street's Dow Jones index was set to record its biggest intraday percentage rise in more than a month on Tuesday, boosted by gains in industrial giants 3M and Caterpillar. The maker of Post-It Notes jumped 7.6 per cent in early trading, while Caterpillar was up 4.9 per cent after the two companies reported stellar quarterly results and gave upbeat forecasts.

Both stocks contributed about 160 points to the Dow’s 195-point rise. McDonald’s, another Dow component to report results on Tuesday, also notched up gains.

General Motors rose 2.5 per cent after the automaker reaffirmed its full-year earnings forecast and promised to slash stocks of unsold vehicles. Whirlpool tumbled 10 per cent after the home appliances maker reported profit and sales below estimates and lowered full-year earnings guidance. Biogen slipped 4.6 per cent after reporting disappointing US sales of a potential blockbuster drug, Spinraza.

(Additional reporting Reuters/Bloomberg)

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