Stocks hovered near all-time highs on Wall Street as investors viewed comments by Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell reinforced speculation the central bank will be able cut rates this year.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the day down 30 basis points but it outperformed international peers in Europe that were dragged lower by political uncertainty in France.
The market was buoyed by budget airline Ryanair which, despite slipping 29 basis points, was still ahead of most of its rivals.
There were mixed fortunes among the financial names as AIB was down 35 points while Bank of Ireland climbed 40 basis points.
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Among the food names, Kerry Group and Glanbia slipped 26 and 38 points respectively.
Turning to the housebuilders, Cairn Homes was down 55 basis points at close of business, while its peer Glenveagh Properties climbed 1.3 per cent.
London
The FTSE 100 slumped 0.66 per cent on Tuesday as oil giant BP acted as a drag. Sentiment started positive in early trading but turned sour throughout the session as housebuilders and retailers also weakened.
BP was one of the day’s significant fallers after if it warned of an impairment charge of up to $2 billion (€1.9bn) in its second quarter. The group said it is bracing for a hit linked to “post-tax asset impairments and associated onerous contract provisions”, including previously announced moves to review its refining operations in Germany. Shares in the oil major fell by 4.3 per cent to 454.25p as a result, and put heavy downward pressure on the FTSE 100.
Recruiter PageGroup was firmly in the red after it warned over annual earnings and revealed further cuts to its workforce in the face of weaker activity in the global jobs market. The group said that gross profits fell 12 per cent on a constant currency basis to £224.3 million (€265m) in the three months to the end of June and worsened through the quarter. Investors were knocked by the update, with shares dropping by 3.98 per cent to 405.8p.
Mulberry shares made positive strides on Tuesday after the luxury handbag-maker ousted under-pressure chief executive Thierry Andretta following a slump in value over the past year. It revealed that Andrea Baldo, the former boss of Danish fashion brand Ganni, will take over in the role in September to help drive improved sales despite a challenging backdrop in the sector. Shares lifted by 3.6 per cent to 106.2p.
Gift card seller Moonpig finished higher after it received an upgrade from brokers at Deutsche Bank, citing improving consumer confidence. Shares were up 3.6 per cent at 201p.
Europe
On the continent, the Stoxx Europe 600 fell 0.5 per cent, while the Cac 40 in France ended 1.56 per cent lower and the Dax index in Germany was down 1.34 per cent at the close. Meanwhile, the MSCI World Index was little changed.
Euro zone government bond yields edged up, staying higher after Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said inflation “remains above” its 2 per cent target but has been improving.
Germany’s 10-year bond yield, the benchmark for the euro zone bloc, was last up 4 basis points at around 2.56 per cent, compared with 2.53 per cent just before Mr Powell started speaking.
New York
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hit record highs, powered by semiconductors and megacaps, as Congress heard testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell, who said more “good” economic data would strengthen the case for interest rate cuts.
AI-chip favourite Nvidia jumped 4 per cent, while Applied Materials and Micron Technology gained 2 per cent and 3 per cent, respectively, steering the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index to a record high.
The S&P 500 information technology index also hit an all-time high, along with megacaps including Alphabet and Apple, while Meta Platforms and Amazon.com rose 0.9 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively. – Additional reporting: Agencies
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