Markets

Global markets cautious as investors await key economic data

Food giant Kerry Group among the biggest movers of the day in Dublin as it rose 1.6%

Shares in continental Europe dipped after moves by China to stimulate its economy failed to impress investors, who grew cautious ahead of euro zone and US economic data

Colin Gleeson
Tue Mar 5 2024 - 18:07

Global equity investors showed caution on Tuesday as they eyed upcoming economic data and central bank actions.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin finished the day down 0.3 per cent, which was largely in line with its international peers.

Food giant Kerry Group was among the biggest movers of the day as it rose 1.6 per cent. Meanwhile, there were mixed fortunes for the banks as AIB fell 1.2 per cent ahead of its full-year results on Wednesday, while Bank of Ireland climbed 0.6 per cent.

Budget airline Ryanair also had a busy day of trading, but its shares slipped 1 per cent.

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Shares in agri-services group Origin Enterprises fell 5 per cent after it reported an almost 28 per cent drop in revenue in the first half of its 2024 financial year amid an anticipated correction in global feed and fertiliser raw materials pricing.

London

The FTSE 100 was little changed amid a calm and cautious session ahead of Wednesday’s key budget announcement from the chancellor.

Greggs saw shares rise by 58p to 2,774p after it delivered a bumper pretax profit of £188.3 million (€220.4m) for 2023, up from £148.3 million the previous year, and also said around 25,000 workers would share £17.6 million in bonuses this month as a result.

Daily Mirror publisher Reach were up 7.8p at 67.25p after it said it expects to pay out £20.2 million less to the victims of phone hacking due to a December judgment from the high court.

Travis Perkins shares dropped by 20.2p to 725.2p after the builders’ merchants firm cautioned that the UK construction sector is unlikely to see any serious recovery until after a government is installed following the election expected later this year.

Spirent Communications saw shares jump by 68.6p to 177p after it agreed to a £1 billion takeover by US rival Viavi Solutions.

Europe

Shares on the Continent dipped after moves by China to stimulate its economy failed to impress investors, who grew cautious ahead of euro zone and US economic data.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index lost 0.3 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.7 per cent.

The German Dax index was down 0.1 per cent at the close, and the Cac 40 closed down 0.3 per cent.

New York

Wall Street fell with weakness in megacap growth stocks such as Apple and Tesla weighing on the Nasdaq, while investors assessed a slew of economic data and awaited remarks from Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell.

An AI-fuelled rally on Wall Street ran out of steam at the start of this week as focus turns to fresh cues on the Fed’s monetary policy path after signs of sticky inflation in February dampened hopes of early interest rate cuts.

The benchmark S&P 500 hit a fresh intraday record high on Monday before closing slightly lower in the run-up to Powell’s testimony before lawmakers on Wednesday and Thursday.

At 11.32am eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.59 per cent; the S&P 500 was down 0.8 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite was down 1.64 per cent.

Among major movers Apple slid 2.7 per cent after a research report showed iPhone sales in China fell 24 per cent year-on-year in the first six weeks of 2024 as the US company faced increased competition from domestic rivals such as Huawei.

Other megacap growth and technology stocks also declined, with Tesla down 4.9 per cent after its European Gigafactory near Berlin halted production after a suspected arson attack.

Six of the 11 major S&P 500 subindexes declined, with rate-sensitive sectors such as technology leading losses.

Target jumped 11.3 per cent after the big-ticket retailer forecast annual comparable sales largely above estimates, betting on same-day services, product launches and a new membership programme to boost spending. – Additional reporting: Agencies

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson

Colin Gleeson is an Irish Times reporter

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