European shares fell on Wednesday as companies delivered mixed news and a political row hit British lenders.
Dublin
Dealers said the Irish market was largely flat with little news to stoke investors’ interest on Wednesday.
Ryanair Holdings climbed 1.02 per cent to close at €15.87 after hitting a high of €16.17 at one point during trade.
The airline cut passenger forecasts for the current financial year by 1.5 million to 183.5 million earlier this week when it reported €663 million profits for the three months ended June 30th, its first quarter.
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Healthcare group Uniphar shed 3.64 per cent to €2.91 despite a statement saying it had traded in line with expectations in the first six months of this year.
Elsewhere, Paddy Power and Betfair owner Flutter Entertainment added 1.04 per cent to close at €175.70. Dalata Hotel Group shed 1.04 per cent to €4.275.
London
London’s blue chipe FTSE 100 slipped on Wednesday as the row over the closure of former UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage’s account with NatWest subsidiary Coutts account dented bank shares.
NatWest Group was the index’s worst casualty following chief executive Dame Alison Rose’s resignation as chief executive of the state-backed lender after admitting a “serious error of judgment” by discussing Mr Farage’s relationship with Coutts with a BBC journalist.
NatWest shares finished 3.76 per cent lower at 241.8 pence sterling. Lloyds – which earlier reported a reported a half-year pretax profit of £3.9 billion (€4.55 billion) – slipped 1.66 per cent to 45.33p while Standard Chartered closed almost 1 per cent lower at 711.4p.
Aer Lingus owner, International Consolidated Airlines Group, which is due to report first-half results this week, climbed 2.31 per cent to 152.5p.
Shares in aircraft engine and high-end car manufacturer, Rolls-Royce, soared 21.2 per cent to 185p after saying profits for the half-year and current full-year would be significantly above forecasts following a strong performance in recent months.
Mining giant, Rio Tinto, shed 3 per cent to close at 5,229p after reporting a fall in first-half profits to $5.7 billion from $8.63 billion.
Europe
Slow US demand for its designer handbags sent shares in Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) shares plunging 5.15 per cent to €810.
The luxury goods maker said that the sluggish US economy offset gains from revived demand in China for its bags and clothing.
LVMH’s downbeat news hit other luxury brands, dragging on Europe’s Stoxx 600. Gucci and Saint Laurent owner Kering shed 1.82 per cent to close at €522 while Hermes International was 2.35 per cent down at €1,852.40. Ray-Ban maker Essilorluxottica dropped 2.41 per cent to close at €173.
US
Aircraft manufacturer, Boeing, whose airline customers include Ryanair, was heading for a one-year high after second quarter revenues hit $19.75 billion, beating analysts’ forecasts. Its stock was up around 6.7 per cent at $228.53 at around 6.30pm Irish time. This was just before an SEC filing in the US showed delivery of the 737 MAX 7 has been delayed to 2024.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq edged lower as investors assessed mixed earnings and waited for a likely interest rate hike.
Microsoft eased 4 per cent after laying out an aggressive spending plan to meet demand for its new artificial intelligence-powered services.
Alphabet gained 6.1 per cent after the Google parent’s second-quarter profit exceeded Wall Street expectations on steady demand for its cloud services and a rebound in advertising. – Additional reporting: Reuters
