Global markets rise as coronavirus restrictions ease in Beijing

Global markets rose on Monday as international sentiment rebounded following a loosening of restrictions in Beijing increased bets that economic activity will pick up.

DUBLIN

Euronext Dublin was up about 0.75 per cent on Monday but it was a “tame day”, according to traders, who said volumes were down about 70 per cent.

Among the main movers were building materials giant CRH, which was up 1 per cent on the day. Elsewhere, airline Ryanair and box maker Smurfit Kappa were also both up 1 per cent, largely in line with the index.

Meanwhile, insulation specialist Kingspan was flat, while Kerry Group was just above flat.

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Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment was among the standout performers, ending the day up 1.3 per cent.

Among the banks, AIB was marginally weaker at the close, while Bank of Ireland finished the day up 3 per cent.

LONDON

The FTSE 100 rode a rally in commodity stocks to close higher, while jet and auto parts supplier Melrose Industries jumped on a deal to sell a unit for $650 million (€608 million).

The blue-chip index gained 1.0 per cent, while the domestically oriented FTSE 250 advanced 1.2 per cent as trading resumed after a long holiday weekend to mark Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee.

Miners Rio Tinto and Glencore rose 1.6 per cent and 4 per cent, lifting the broader mining sector, as copper prices rallied to five-week highs on hopes of stronger demand from China after the top metals consumer lifted Covid-19 curbs.

Oil majors BP and Shell added 2.1 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively, tracking a rally in Brent crude to above $120 a barrel after Saudi Arabia hiked prices for its crude sales in July.

In the year so far, the FTSE 100 has risen 3.4 per cent thanks to surging oil and metal prices, while the midcap FTSE 250 has declined 13 per cent on concerns that rapid inflation could spark an economic slowdown.

On Monday, nearly all sectors on the FTSE 100 traded in positive territory, with the biggest boosts coming from homebuilders and miners.

Melrose Industries rose 3.3 per cent after agreeing to sell its Ergotron unit, which makes ergonomic desks and office accessories, to funds managed by US-based Sterling Group.

EUROPE

European equities rebounded from last week’s declines after China eased Covid-19 curbs, fuelling risk-on sentiment.

The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.9 per cent by the close in London as a loosening of restrictions in Beijing increased bets that economic activity will pick up. Commodity-tied stocks jumped with oil and metals, while technology shares advanced with peers in Asia and the US.

Investors sold European stocks for a sixteenth straight week, with regional stocks seeing outflows of $4.2 billion in the week to June 1st, according to Bank of United States strategists citing EPFR Global data.

NEW YORK

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rose, recovering some losses suffered last week as investors bought into heavyweights Apple and Amazon.com, while Twitter dropped after Elon Musk threatened to walk away from his $44 billion buyout deal.

Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors advanced, with communication services and consumer discretionary leading the pack with a rise of 0.7 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Apple, Tesla, Alphabet, and Amazon.com climbed between 0.8 per cent and 3.1 per cent. Amazon shares were trading after adjusting to 20-to-one split.

The gains came after a volatile week when a solid jobs report quashed hopes of a pause in the Federal Reserve’s aggressive policy tightening plan to cool decades-high inflation.

Money markets are fully pricing in 50 basis point rate increases by the US central bank next week and in July.

Twitter slipped 2.5 per cent after billionaire Musk said he might walk away from his buyout offer if the social media company fails to provide data on spam and fake accounts.