Shares continued their rally on Monday as investors looked to the US Jackson Hole economic symposium for clues on interest rate moves and policy.
DUBLIN
Traders said stocks enjoyed a good day although there was little Irish corporate news to sway investors.
Food group Glanbia endured another tough day, sliding 3.88 per cent to €15.62. The Kilkenny-based business last week reported that profits for the six months to the end of June fell to $143 million (€130 million) from $193 million during the same period in 2023.
Barring a brief recovery on Friday, Glanbia’s shares have been falling since it reported those figures. Dealers noted that volumes were reasonably strong “but there were more sellers than buyers”, one added.
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Among other stocks, hotelier Dalata added almost 1 per cent to close at €4.29. AIB climbed 1.84 per cent to €5.265 while its peer Bank of Ireland gained 1.04 per cent to end the day at €10.23.
LONDON
London’s top benchmark FTSE100 climbed to its highest level this month, aided by miners and housebuilders.
Housebuilder Barratt was firmly in the green after it told investors it will complete its purchase of rival Redrow later this week. Shares in Barratt were 3.4 per cent higher at 554 pence sterling at the end of trading on Monday.
Trading platform firm Plus500 was a riser after it upgraded its profit forecast and boosted its dividend to shareholders following a record number of new retail customers in the first half of 2024.
The London-listed firm saw first-half profit rise to $148.8 million, slightly up from $146.5 million in the first half of 2023. Shares finished 4.11 per cent higher at 2,532p.
However, a tough session for the defence industry saw BAE Systems’ stock dip 0.8 per cent to 1,339p.
Similarly, shares in aircraft engine maker Rolls-Royce slipped sharply during the day, touching a low of 489.2p before recovering ground to close 0.2 per cent down at 500p.
EUROPE
European stocks gained Monday, extending last week’s rally. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was up 0.6 per cent by the close, after posting the strongest weekly gain since May
Basic resources and retailers outperformed, while healthcare stocks lagged the rest and defence stocks took a hit as budget cuts led Germany to signal a reduction in aid for Ukraine.
Swedish telecoms-equipment maker Ericsson AB edged higher after it reached a $1 billion deal to sell its US call-routing business Iconectiv to a private investment arm of Koch.
Europe’s benchmark index is recovering after getting caught up in a global sell-off earlier this month. An improvement in technical indicators also suggests investors are back in risk-on mode.
US
US stocks rose as central bankers gathered in Jackson Hole Wyoming for their yearly economic symposium. Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is due to speak on Friday, when many investors believe he will signal a likely interest rate cut next month.
Meanwhile, they were hoping that continued momentum on Monday would bring Wall Street’s current winning streak to eight days.
The S&P 500 rose to 5,575 in afternoon trading in New York. Advanced Micro Devices agreed to buy server maker ZT Systems in a deal valued at $4.9 billion. Estée Lauder gave a disappointing sales forecast, but its shares were up 1 per cent at 11:15am in New York.
Chief executive Fabrizio Freda plans to retire at the end of June 2025, capping a decade-and-a-half reign that transformed the company into a global cosmetics giant but ran into trouble in recent years.
Lowe’s, Target and TJX are among the big retail names reporting this week.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters
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