European indices snap losing streak to finish slightly ahead

European shares eked out gains by the close on Wednesday, buoyed by a rise in defensive stocks, though worries over a looming energy crisis and gloomy growth outlook kept gains in check.

In the US, Wall Street’s main indices rose with megacap growth stocks leading gains after a tech sell-off in the last few sessions, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s Jackson Hole conference this week.

Dublin

The Iseq index nudged ahead by 0.17 per cent by close, broadly tracking its European peers. The session comprised a mixed performance from the index’s big stocks. Both the big banks were in the black, with AIB ahead by 1.1 per cent on €2.14 and Bank of Ireland up 1.5 per cent to €5.82.

However, building materials giant CRH fell more than 2.4 per cent to €36.97, as an architectural index in the US forecast a slowdown in the non-residential building sector. Kingspan, however, climbed more than 1.2 per cent to €57.72 after stockbroker Davy upgraded its profits forecast following the insulation company’s positive interim results.

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Food group Kerry was also in the black, up almost 1.9 per cent to €106.90.

London

Commodity and financial stocks dragged the FTSE 100 0.2 per cent lower on worries about a slowdown in global economic growth, although a jump in Aveva Group on buyout news and a weaker pound helped limit losses on the exporter-heavy index.

Aveva soared 27 per cent after French industrial conglomerate Schneider, which owns nearly 60 per cent of the software company, said it was considering buying out minority shareholders.

It was also a good day for Premier Inn-owner Whitbread. The company announced it has invested £200 million (€236 million) into a new hotel development on central London’s the Strand, set to open sometime during 2027. Shares in the group were up by 12p to 2,547p at the end of the day.

HSBC slipped 1.9 per cent after China’s Ping An Insurance Group defended its call to spin off the lender’s Asia business, saying it cared about investment returns from its large stake but was not an activist investor.

Oil majors BP and Shell fell more than 1 per cent each tracking volatile crude prices. Miners slipped 1.9 per cent.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended 0.2 per cent higher, breaking a three-day losing streak but hovering near one-month lows.

Defensive sectors, including healthcare, led gains while miners fell 1.8 per cent, the most across European sectors. The German Dax was up 0.2 per cent and the French Cac had risen 0.39 per cent when markets closed.

Among individual stocks, Richemont rose 3.6 per cent after the Swiss company said Farfetch would acquire a 47.5 per cent stake in the luxury goods group’s loss-making online fashion retailer Yoox Net-A-Porter and that Alabbar would take 3.2 per cent.

Bavarian Nordic added 4.6 per cent after the Danish biotech firm said it was making “every effort” to meet the high demand for its monkeypox vaccine around the world as it retained its business outlook for the year.

New York

All 11 big S&P 500 sectors advanced in midday trading, with information technology, consumer discretionary and communication services stocks up 0.4-1.1 per cent.

Boosting the tech-heavy Nasdaq, Tesla gained 1.6 per cent ahead of its stock split, while Intuit rose 6.1 per cent after the accounting software maker forecast upbeat fiscal 2023 revenue.

Banks rose 0.6 per cent, on track to snap their five-day slump.

Nordstrom tumbled 18.7 per cent after the retailer cut its annual revenue and profit forecasts, a sign that inflation was squeezing consumer spending on its high-end clothing and footwear.

Chipmaker Nvidia rose 1.2 per cent, while Salesforce gained 2.6 per cent, ahead of their quarterly results after the bell.