Europe’s main stock indices were flat on Friday, but notched strong gains over the week that marked record highs from German and French shares, while investors also analysed a US jobs report for clues on the global monetary policy outlook.
DUBLIN
The Irish index of shares ended the week largely flat, mirroring its European peers.
Bank of Ireland shares were flat on the day, ending the week at €8.74. AIB meanwhile fared better, adding 1.23 per cent, while Permanent TSB was up almost 1.8 per cent having slumped on Thursday in the wake of its full-year results release.
Insulation giant Kingspan saw its shares increase almost 1 per cent over the day, closing at €85.76. Smurfit Kappa shares gained 1.1 per cent over the session.
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Shares in food giant Kerry Group declined marginally. The company, which has seen its stock slide steadily since July 2021, had earlier said it issued new share options to its top executives as part of the company’s bonus scheme.
LONDON
The internationally focused FTSE 100 was down 0.4 per cent on the day and logged its third straight week of losses. A no-surprise annual budget statement, however, drove the midcap FTSE 250 index higher by 1.3 per cent for the week. It was up 0.1 per cent for the day.
Aerospace and defence stocks led sectoral losses to snap a seven-session winning streak and fell 1.1 per cent, driven by weakness in Melrose shares following its warning of ongoing supply chain challenges earlier this week.
Among individual stocks, DS Smith climbed 5.2 per cent, to lead gains on the benchmark, after Mondi reached an agreement in principle for an all-share offer to buy the company for £5.14 billion. Mondi’s shares slipped 2.3 per cent.
Informa edged 0.3 per cent higher after the events organiser raised its earnings forecast for the current year and posted upbeat 2023 profit.
Meanwhile, Entain slipped 5.4 per cent to the bottom of the FTSE 100, extending losses from the previous session when the gambling group said regulatory changes would hurt its 2024 profits.
EUROPE
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed flat, notching an all-time high and its seventh straight weekly advance.
France’s benchmark CAC 40 hit a record high on Friday, while Germany’s DAX touched an all-time high in the previous session.
Technology lost 1.6 per cent after BE Semiconductor slumped 16.1 per cent on a media report that Joint Electron Device Engineering Council lowered certain chip standards which might delay investments into hybrid bonding technology.
Among other movers, the financial services index climbed 1.1 per cent, buoyed by a 4 per cent jump in UBS. Morgan Stanley upgraded the largest Swiss bank to “overweight” from “equal-weight”, while a report showed UBS will close 85 Swiss branches of its combined operations with Credit Suisse by 2025.
German meal-kit maker HelloFresh tanked 42.1 per cent after 2024 core earnings forecast missed expectations significantly.
NEW YORK
The Nasdaq and the S&P 500 fell on Friday as a rally in chip stocks lost some steam, while a mixed labour market report showed that employers added more jobs than expected in February though the unemployment rate unexpectedly rose.
AI darling Nvidia fell 1.5 per cent, leading losses among megacap growth and technology peers after hitting a fresh record high. Broadcom slid 5.6 per cent after the tech company’s full-year forecast failed to impress investors.
Shares of Marvell Technology, shed 9.1 per cent after the company forecast first-quarter results below market expectations on soft demand in its wireless infrastructure, consumer and enterprise markets.
Gap climbed 5.1 per cent after the retailer beat Wall Street expectations for fourth-quarter results, buoyed by strong demand on improved product offerings at its Old Navy and namesake brands during the holiday season, and lower markdowns. — Additional reporting: Reuters
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