Robust earnings boost global shares as rally continues

European and US stocks gained on Thursday as investors pounced on positive results from the likes of Siemens and AstraZeneca and news that Disney is trimming its workforce in a major cost-cutting initiative.

Equities have had an upbeat start to 2023 as investors bet that the peak of the inflation mountain is beginning to come into view for central bank policymakers.

DUBLIN

The Iseq index, up by close to 0.5 per cent on Thursday, moved in line with its European peers, pulled higher by banking and house building stocks as well as airlines.

Ryanair advanced 1 per cent to €15.58 following a 1.9 per cent gain on Wednesday after announcing its summer route schedule for a number of UK and Irish routes.

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Shares in AIB and Bank of Ireland gained 3.7 per cent and 2.9 per cent to close the session at €3.98 and €9.90 per cent respectively on “pretty light volumes”, traders in Dublin said. Permanent TSB, up for much of the session, had slipped by close to 0.5 per cent by the closing bell, finishing at €2.13.

Cairn Homes and Glenveagh both added 1.5 per cent, meanwhile. Moving in the opposite direction, Kingspan – which releases preliminary results next week – tumbled a further 1.5 per cent to €57.28 after Wednesday’s 8 per cent drop. Traders said there the sector has seen huge volatility after Danish insulation maker Rockwool forecast of a 10 per cent sales decline for the year on Wednesday. Kingspan was up as high as €61 at one point before closing out at a session low.

EUROPE

Positive results from Siemens and AstraZeneca buoyed European equities on Thursday.

The blue chip Stoxx 50 index climbed close to 1 per cent while the pan-European Stoxx 600 eked out a 0.6 per cent gain. At the national level, the Cac 40 in France and the German Dax index added close to one per cent each.

German industrial giant Siemens, up more than 6 per cent on the session, gained after reporting better-than-expected quarterly profit on Thursday and raising its sales and profit outlook for the rest of the year. The builder of trains and industrial software reported profit at its industrial business of €2.7 billion in the fiscal first quarter to the end of December, beating forecasts for €2.5 billion.

Moving the other way, Credit Suisse reported its worst annual loss since the global financial crisis in 2008, sending its shares lower by more than 14.5 per cent.

LONDON

A slate of upbeat earnings from blue-chip companies kept UK’s FTSE 100 pinned near record levels on Thursday, although shares of Entain tumbled after a report suggested US casino operator MGM was ending talks to takeover the betting firm.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent, hovering near record levels hit in the previous session, while the midcap FTSE 250 index was essentially flat.

Unilever rose 0.3 per cent after the consumer goods giant reported quarterly underlying sales growth above expectations, helped by higher prices.

AstraZeneca jumped 4 per cent after the drugmaker beat expectations with fourth-quarter profits.

Entain tumbled more than 13 per cent, after a Jefferies report pointed to MGM’s chief executive officer saying the company had “moved on” from the gambling firm amid speculation of a takeover.

British American Tobacco fell 2.7 per cent after it reported full-year results and said it expects to complete the sale of its Russian business to its local partner in 2023.

NEW YORK

The main stock indexes rose on Thursday with Disney and Salesforce boosting the blue-chip Dow index, while data showing a rise in weekly jobless claims helped ease concerns about the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike path.

Disney gained 3 per cent to its highest level since late August after topping earnings estimates and announcing 7,000 job cuts as part of an effort to save $5.5 billion (€5.1 billion) in costs.

Fellow Dow component Salesforce added 3 per cent as a source familiar with the matter told Reuters that hedge fund Third Point owns a stake in the company.

All the major S&P 500 sectors were higher, with technology jumping 1.7 per cent.

Mega-cap stocks including Meta, Apple, Tesla and Microsoft climbed in the range of 1.1 per cent to 4.8 per cent. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters, PA