Pressure on global stocks eases with news of cooling US labour market

A sell-off in the US bond market has hammered global stocks in recent days amid concerns that the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates elevated longer than expected. However, this eased on Wednesday, with fresh data indicating a cooling US labour market.

In Dublin a number of ISEQ heavy hitters saw gains, but the index still tracked an overall loss, in line with European counterparts.

Dublin

The Iseq All Share Index performed in line with other European indices on Wednesday, and recovered slightly from a downward trajectory in recent days. However, the index still saw a loss of 0.06 per cent, closing at 8,222.41.

In terms of individual companies building materials company Kingspan saw a rebound after several days of losses, gaining 1.73 per cent and closing at €69.52.

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Still at the centre of investor speculation regarding a proposed merger with US peer WestRock, shares of packaging company Smurfit Kappa remain volatile, but saw gains on Wednesday. Smurfit rose 2.05 per cent, closing at €31.36.

Paddy Power-parent company Flutter Entertainment lost 1.43 per cent, closing at €151.45. The fall reflected weakness across the betting and gaming sector, and coincided with announcement on Wednesday that Flutter plans to close 21 Paddy Power betting shops in the Republic with the loss of some jobs.

Dalata Hotel Group rose 0.52 per cent to €3.90 as the Irish-headquartered hotel group announced that it is investing €55.3 million in a new Edinburgh hotel, and has completed the €29.5 million deal to buy the leasehold interest in the Hard Rock Hotel, Amsterdam.

It was a mixed day for the Irish banks as AIB fell 0.39 per cent to €4.04, Bank of Ireland was up 0.71 per cent to €9.12, and Permanent TSB remained flat at €2.08.

Ryanair gained 0.48 per cent to €15.63, while insurance company FBD Holdings fell 2.07 per cent to €11.80, and nutrition group Glanbia lost 2.49 per cent, closing at €14.90.

London

The export-heavy FTSE 100 Index lost 0.77 per cent on Wednesday, closing at 7,412.76, while the more domestically focused FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index lost 1.05 per cent, closing at 17,492.90.

Tesco shares led gains on the FTSE 100, as the UK’s biggest supermarket upgraded its annual profit guidance. The supermarket chain gained 4.28 per cent as it signalled that food inflation has eased and will continue to fall, noting that shoppers are snapping up both its low price offers and premium “Finest” ranges.

Shares of Spirent Communications fell 31.27 per cent, to lead declines on the midcap index, after the telecoms testing services provider warned of lower annual profit.

Fashion retailer Superdry jumped 17.82 per cent, on news that it would sell its intellectual property assets in south Asia to Reliance Retail.

Europe

The pan-European STOXX 600 index lost 0.14 per cent, falling to 440.14. The German DAX rose 0.10 per cent to 15,099.92, while the French CAC 40 remained flat at 6,996.73.

European stocks continue to be hurt by a rally in US and European bond yields, but yields pulled back slightly on Wednesday following data showing US companies in September added the fewest number of jobs since the start of 2021.

Among single stocks Novartis rose 1.81 per cent after the Swiss drugmaker said it has completed the spin-off of its generics and biosimilars business Sandoz. Sandoz, meanwhile, lost 17.46 per cent.

Fund distribution company Allfunds soared by 10.59 per cent, with traders attributing the rise to a media report the firm has enlisted banks to explore its sale for more than €5 billion.

New York

A national employment report published by ADP showed that US employers added the fewest number of workers in more than 2½ years in September. Wednesday’s report eased investor fears of the Federal Reserve tightening monetary policy, which were stirred by a stronger-than-expected US job openings report on Tuesday.

The three main indexes rose, while treasury yields pulled back from their multiyear highs.

Big growth stocks Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Alphabet and Tesla all saw gains.

Helen of Troy saw share prices fall after the home and beauty products maker reported lower second-quarter sales and profit, while Rollins also lost after Spruce Point Capital Management said it was short on the pest-control firm.

Chipmaker Intel gained off the back of plans to operate its programmable chip unit as a stand-alone business and hold a public offering for stock in the business over the next two to three years.

– Additional reporting from Reuters and Bloomberg.