Anxiety gave way to relief on global markets as China’s central bank eased concern that a shock currency devaluation would trigger broader financial turmoil.
US stocks rose with European and emerging-market equities, while demand ebbed for haven assets from bonds to gold after the People’s Bank of China signalled support for the yuan. The dollar strengthened as labour and sales data bolstered optimism in the world’s largest economy.
DUBLIN
The Iseq index of Irish shares closed at 6,501.75, a rise of 1.97 per cent, which was a very solid performance when compared with its European peers. The market heavyweight,
CRH
, made a strong contribution, closing at €27.40, a rise of 2.93 per cent.
Other positive performances were put in by Bank of Ireland, which rose 3.38 per cent to close at €0.36, and IFG Group, which closed at €2.07, a rise of 2.87 per cent. Smurfit Kappa rose 3.69 per cent, to €27.01, and Permanent TSB rose 2.22 per cent, to €5. FBD Holdings fell 6.03 per cent, to €6.43.
LONDON
The London market lost momentum after an upbeat start as China tried to dampen fears of further big falls for its currency, following a surprise devaluation of the yuan.
The FTSE 100 Index has lost more than 150 points in the last couple of days amid the turmoil caused by the move earlier this week.
At the start of the session it bounced back but finished 2.9 points lower at 6568.3.
The fizz was taken out of the rally after healthy US retail sales figures added to fears that an interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve was moving closer.
Luxury fashion group Burberry, which suffered two days of shares falls on developments in China, rallied as the slide in the currency slowed. Shares edged up 2p, to 1,484p, after being more than 2 per cent higher earlier in the session.
In London shares, Thomson and First Choice owner TUI saw a 7 per cent rise despite disclosing that it faced an impact of up to £32 million from the terror attack in Tunisia in June that killed 38 tourists including 33 of its customers.
G4S – the British company whose services include running prisons and protecting airports – dropped 5.4 per cent after both Goldman Sachs and Exane BNP Paribas cut their ratings on the stock.
EUROPE
European shares bounced back after a 4 per cent fall this week, tracking global equities higher on efforts by China’s central bank to steady a falling yuan that has stirred markets worldwide. Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 each rose by around 1 per cent while Greece’s Athex stock index edged 0.7 per cent lower.
Nestle reported worse-than- expected half-year sales, hurt by a recall of its Maggi noodles in India, though the Swiss food group's shares rose 2.7 per cent after it said it maintained its 2015 outlook.
Among standout losers, shares in Germany's No 2 utility RWE dropped 7.9 per cent after it posted a weaker-than-expected profit in the first half, hit by a mix of low wholesale power prices, a small footprint in renewables and problems at its UK business.
Dutch insurer Aegon slumped 7.5 per cent after it missed earnings forecasts.
NEW YORK
Wall Street rose in early afternoon trading, helped by a rally in financial and consumer discretionary stocks after strong US economic data put the likelihood of a September rate hike back on the table.
Cisco rallied 3.9 per cent to $28.99, set for its best day since February, after its profit beat expectations. The stock gave the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and the S&P.
US retail sales rebounded in July, while the trend of weekly jobless claims pointed to a tightening job market, increasing the likelihood that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates as early as September. – Additional reporting, Bloomberg, Reuters, PA
