European shares broke a three-day losing streak on Wednesday as basic materials stocks surged 4.5 per cent.
Russian energy giant Gazprom's move to halt gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland and a plunge in German consumer morale kept gains in check, however.
DUBLIN
The Iseq climbed 0.5 per cent in line with the trend across Europe, but it was a weak day for Bank of Ireland, which sank almost 12.5 per cent despite issuing what analysts at Davy called a "solid" trading update, after it emerged on Tuesday evening that its chief executive, Francesca McDonagh, is stepping down in September to take up a role at Credit Suisse. The bank closed at a price of €5.87.
AIB slipped 2.1 per cent to €1.98, while there was a fall, too, for Cairn Homes, with the house builder ending the session 1.9 per cent lower at just below €1.13.
Elsewhere, most stocks advanced, with building materials group CRH, which holds its agm on Thursday, rising 0.5 per cent to €37.70, and Ryanair enjoying a 3.2 per cent gain to finish at €14.29.
Packaging group Smurfit Kappa also advanced, closing up 2.1 per cent at €39.06, while food group Kerry was 2.9 per cent higher at €103.65.
LONDON
The Ftse 100 edged up 0.5 per cent, driven by gains in mining stocks and strong corporate updates, although a fall in cyclical stocks and industrial software company Aveva capped its rise. Anglo American rose 5.2 per cent to lead gains among miners.
The mid-cap Ftse 250 index closed 0.3 per cent lower. Metro Bank climbed 4.7 per cent after the challenger lender said it was on track to deliver rising profits and achieve its strategic objectives, while transport operator Go-Ahead rose 3.8 per cent after forecasting higher 2022 earnings.
Lloyds Banking Group ended 0.3 per cent lower despite the lender reporting upbeat first-quarter profits. Guinness and Smirnoff maker Diageo fell 0.1 per cent and was the biggest drag on the Ftse 100 index, leading losses in consumer staples, after analysts at Deutsche Bank downgraded the drinks giant's stock to "hold" from "buy".
Aveva slumped 15.9 per cent after it warned that revenue hit from sanctions on Russia would impact its operating profit this year.
EUROPE
The pan-European Stoxx 600 rose 0.7 per cent after having hit six-week lows at the open. Miners and oil stocks extended gains for a second straight day, with the former on course to make back all of Monday’s 6 per cent plunge.
In Paris, the Cac 40 added 0.5 per cent, while German shares, which underperformed through the session, rallied at close, with the Dax climbing 0.3 per cent in Frankfurt.
Deutsche Bank's 5.6 per cent slide after warning that the Russia-Ukraine conflict could hurt full-year results, capped gains, while a survey showed German consumer morale is set to plunge to a historic low in May as the conflict in Ukraine leads to soaring costs and dashes hopes of a post-pandemic recovery.
Germany-headquartered companies Mercedes-Benz and meal-kit supplier HelloFresh rose on upbeat earnings.
US
Wall Street stocks rose in choppy early trading. Microsoft gained 5.8 per cent on cloud computing-led strong revenue growth forecast, while payments network Visa jumped 8.2 per cent after it predicted revenue would exceed pre-pandemic levels.
Facebook-owner Meta Platforms, which was due to publish quarterly earnings after the close, fell 2.4 per cent, while plane maker Boeing tumbled 7.5 per cent after it disclosed $1.5 billion (€1.4 billion) in abnormal costs from the 777X output halt.
Tesla gained 2.8 per cent after a 12 per cent slump on Tuesday on concerns that chief executive Elon Musk may have to sell shares to fund his buyout of Twitter.
Audio streaming platform Spotify Technology tumbled 11.3 per cent on a downbeat current-quarter revenue forecast.
