Business

Shares recover as FTSE 100 hits new peak

Underperforming its European peers, the Iseq index added 0.3%

Tesla fell 4.3% as the electric vehicle maker cut prices in a number of its major markets. Photograph: Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Ian Curran
Mon Apr 22 2024 - 18:05

US shares recovered from Friday’s sell-off as investor risk appetite was buoyed by an apparent easing of Middle East tensions and a slate of big-name corporate results later in the week, while the UK’s main index hit a new all-time high.

In Europe rising tin and nickel prices pushed mining stocks higher while Portugal’s Galp Energia boomed amid positive signs from an African oilfield.

DUBLIN

Underperforming its European counterparts, the Iseq Overall Index added just 0.3 per cent in what traders in Dublin described as a slow news day for Irish stocks.

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Food names, including Kerry Group and Glanbia, were among the top performers on the session, adding 1.8 per cent to €80.80 per share and 0.8 per cent to €17.84 per share respectively as part of a wider sectoral move.

Ryanair, meanwhile, noticeably underperformed its peers like EasyJet, up by close to 0.2 per cent to €20.46 per share.

In advance of a trading update on Friday insulation giant Kingspan gained slightly more than 0.1 per cent, finishing the session at €81.45.

Irish banking names were also relatively muted with Bank of Ireland up by just over 0.1 per cent to €10.07 per share, AIB down 0.4 per cent to €5.01 and PTSB off by 1.9 per cent at €1.55.

LONDON

London’s commodities-heavy FTSE 100 index rose 1.7 per cent, reaching an all-time high as tin and nickel rose to multi-month peaks. The mid-cap FTSE 250, meanwhile, added 1 per cent.

Tyman led gains in the construction sector after it surged 29 per cent on news of a $976 million (€790m) buyout deal by Quanex Building Products.

Precious metal miners was the only sector in the red, slipping as gold prices eased after Iran downplayed the risks of an escalation. Miners Fresnillo, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Endeavour Mining all shed between 0.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent on the session.

Shares in Marks & Spencer jumped nearly 3 per cent after Jefferies raised the stock to “buy” from “hold” earlier.

EUROPE

The blue-chip Stoxx 50 index moved 0.6 per cent higher while the pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.4 per cent.

At a regional level Portugal main index outshone its European peers, adding more than 3 per cent after as oil company Galp Energia rose more than 20 per cent after saying a field off Namibia could contain 10 billion barrels of oil.

European banks, meanwhile, moved higher as investors await a slew of results later in the week. Spanish lenders BBVA and Santander added 2.2 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively, while France’s BNP Paribas, which reports later this week, advanced 1.8 per cent and Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo ahead by 1.5 per cent.

Shares of Alstom gained as much as 1.5 per cent after the French train manufacturer agreed to sell its North American conventional rail signalling business to German rail systems manufacturer Knorr-Bremse for around €630 million.

NEW YORK

Wall Street’s main indices recovered from Friday’s sell-off, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite all ahead by between 0.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent at closing bell in Dublin.

Some megacap growth stocks edged higher, with Alphabet, Amazon and Apple up between 0.3 per cent and 0.7 per cent.

Nvidia advanced 2.4 per cent, rebounding from a 10 per cent drop in the last session.

Tesla fell 4.3 per cent as the electric vehicle maker cut prices in a number of its major markets, including China and Germany, following price reductions in the US.

Tesla, Meta Platforms, Alphabet and Microsoft will be in focus this week as the companies gear up to deliver their quarterly numbers. Their performance could further test the rally in US stocks.

The risk-on mode was also supported by signs of easing tensions in the Middle East as Iran’s foreign minister said on Friday Tehran was investigating an overnight attack, adding that so far a link to Israel had not been proven as he downplayed the strike. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters

Ian Curran

Ian Curran

Ian Curran is a Business reporter with The Irish Times

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