Strong day of trading in Dublin as interest rate hopes lift global markets

It was a strong day of trading for Euronext Dublin and global peers on Wednesday, as statements from central bankers and positive economic data continues to fuel the hope that a cycle of interest rate hikes may have come to an end.

Dublin

It was a positive day of trading overall on the Irish Stock Exchange on Wednesday as the ISEQ All Share Index gained 1.24 per cent to 8,570.46.

Paddy Power parent company Flutter Entertainment, an ISEQ Index heavyweight whose performance tends to influence overall movement of the index, jumped 4.04 per cent to close at €151.95. However, it was a weak day for the Irish banks, as AIB fell by 0.83 per cent to €4.30, Bank of Ireland dropped 1.16 per cent to €8.55, and Permanent TSB closed at €1.67 after losing 1.18 per cent.

Home-builders Cairn Homes and Glenveagh Properties both saw gains as Glenveagh saw a rise of 2.73 per cent to €1.13 and Cairn gained 0.16 per cent to €1.27. Meanwhile, insulation and building materials company Kingspan gained 1.76 per cent to close at €72.96.

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Food companies Glanbia and Kerry Group both saw losses on the day, with Glanbia falling by 0.95 per cent to €15.58, and Kerry Group down 0.50 per cent to €74.88.

Packaging giant Smurfit Kappa rose by 0.63 per cent to €35, while budget airline Ryanair gained 1.74 per cent to close at €18.43.

London

The export-heavy FTSE 100 Index rose by 0.34 per cent to 7,515.38, while the more domestically-focused FTSE Mid-Cap 250 index gained 0.97 per cent to 18,666.73.

British American Tobacco (BAT) sank to the bottom of the FTSE 100 Index, losing 8.36 per cent, after the cigarette-maker flagged it is writing down some of its US cigarette brands by $31.5 billion (€29.20bn) to reflect the diminishing value of brands over the next 30 years as more smokers quit or switch to smoking alternatives.

Meanwhile at the top of the FTSE 100 Index London-listed shares of TUI gained 14.84 per cent after Europe’s biggest travel operator forecast operating profit would jump 25 per cent this year.

Ten Entertainment soared 31.93 per cent to a record high after the bowling venue operator agreed to a £287 million (€334.77m) buyout deal from US private equity firm Trive Capital.

Ocado Group rose by 2.31 per cent after J.P. Morgan upgraded the online supermarket and technology group’s stock to “neutral” from “underweight”.

Europe

European shares were higher on Wednesday as investors seem largely to believe that the peak in interest rates has been reached, encouraged by dovish remarks from European Central Bank official Isabel Schnabel on Tuesday. The pan-European STOXX 600 Index rose by 0.61 per cent, while the German DAX Index gained 0.75 per cent, and the French CAC 40 Index was up 0.66 per cent.

Germany’s Volkswagen climbed 3.63 per cent after an audit of its jointly owned site in Xinjiang, China, found no signs of forced labour.

Merck tanked 13.06 per cent to the bottom of STOXX 600 after the pharmaceutical company’s experimental multiple sclerosis drug evobrutinib failed to meet the primary goal in late-stage trials.

New York

Wall Street edged higher, with all three key indexes slightly up, as further signs of a cooling jobs market reinforced bets that the Federal Reserve could start cutting interest rates early next year.

US private payrolls rose by 103,000 jobs last month, the ADP National Employment Report showed on Wednesday, below the 130,000 estimate of economists polled by Reuters. Data for October was revised lower to show 106,000 jobs added instead of 113,000 as previously reported.

Most megacap stocks edged higher, with Nvidia gaining early in the day after the chip designer said it was working with the US government to ensure new chips for the Chinese market are compliant with export curbs.

Plug Power fell as Morgan Stanley downgraded the hydrogen fuel cell firm to “underweight” from “equal weight” on liquidity concerns.

Tobacco giants Altria Group and Philip Morris International slipped on news regarding UK peer British American Tobacco writing down the value of some US cigarette brands.

Campbell Soup saw gains after surpassing quarterly profit expectations, helped by higher prices for its packaged meals and snacks.

Additional reporting from Reuters.