Stocks fluctuate as investors weigh latest Bank of England rate hike

US stocks wavered on Thursday while European stocks held mostly steady as investors weighed the Bank of England’s decision to once again raise interest rates in a bid to cool soaring inflation.

It represents the sixth meeting in a row in which the central bank’s monetary policy committee has opted to hike rates, a first in it’s over 300-year history. The bank also warned of a drawn-out downturn, nudging the sterling to a one-week low.

Dublin

The Iseq index advanced three-quarters of a percentage point, slightly in advance of other European indexes with investors remaining cheery after a string of mostly positive earnings reports.

A mixed session for the banks ended with Bank of Ireland down almost 0.2 per cent to close the day at €5.99, following Wednesday’s results-driven 5.3 per cent gain. AIB followed, finishing over 0.7 per cent lower at €2.29 per share. Permanent TSB bucked the trend, climbing nearly 3.5 per cent after being flat for most of the day, trading at €1.50 per share at closing bell in Dublin.

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Packaging group Smurfit Kappa added 0.6 per cent, which traders said was a positive read-through from its UK rival Mondi. The company shed close to 5 per cent in London after it noted “challenging conditions” including rising wood costs in half-year results on Thursday.

Elsewhere, Kerry Group slid 1.6 per cent to close out the session at €103.05, while Healthbeacon’s share price fell over 2 per cent and Ryanair lost 0.6 per cent to close the session at €12.58.

Europe

European equities were somewhat steadier than their US peers in the session. The pan-European STOXX 600 eked out a modest gain for the second session in a row, rising 0.3 per cent after two days of losses to start the week.

The French Cac 40 index added 0.6 per cent and Germany’s DAX gained 0.5 per cent.

Making headlines on Thursday, German online clothes retailer Zalando gained over 13 per cent after affirming its profit guidance for the rest of the year. Shares in French video game company Ubisoft surged over 20 per cent at one point in the session to finish the day up almost 11 per cent following reports that Tencent is planning to up its stake in the Assassin’s Creed maker.

Among the biggest losers were Luxembourg-based satellite operator SES, down 8.9 per cent and French automaker Valeo, down 5.6 per cent. Shares in Europe’s largest Just Eat lost close to 5 per cent, almost eclipsing Wednesday’s gains.

London

The UK’s blue chips FTSE 100 share price index initially dipped following the Bank of England’s latest rates hike but quickly recovered as the pound weakened. It was up 0.5 per cent, after touching its highest in around two months.

UK bank stocks eased from highs and were 0.4 per cent lower on the day.

Gambling companies Flutter Entertainment and Entain were among the biggest winners of the session, up 5 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively. With coal enjoying a moment in the sun amid a global energy crunch, mining company Glencore gained over 3 per cent on foot of half-year results showing its earnings doubling to record highs of £15.6 billion (€18.5 billion) in the first six months of the year.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce was down almost 9.5 per cent on the day after posting worst-than-expected half-year results and sounding the alarm over supply chains.

New York

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 fluctuated as thin liquidity in the summer amplified market moves.

Both indexes were dragged down by the slump in Apple and Fortinet shares, down more than 0.3 per cent and 15 per cent respectively. The latter fell after trimming its service-revenue forecast.

However, a strong earnings report from Alibaba Group — up more than 5 per cent on Thursday — drove a rally in some of its tech peers, pushing up some of the Nasdaq 100′s constituents such as JD.com, up 5.5 per cent.

Despite beating its earnings estimates on Thursday, eBay’s share price fell 5.5 per cent after the online trimmed its profit guidance for the year. Marathon Oil lost more than 5 per cent in the session amid softening global oil prices.

— Additional reporting: Reuters/Bloomberg