Business

Dublin market underperforms European peers after volatile week

Homebuilders rise but banks have mixed day

The New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent, the Nasdaq was up 0.1 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 0.8 per cent by midmorning on Friday. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images
Fiona Keeley
Fri Oct 11 2024 - 18:07

The Dublin markets rose 0.27 per cent on Friday, an underperformance against European peers. It comes as the Stoxx 600 in Europe closed up 0.5 per cent after a volatile week on the markets due to a rise in oil prices and growing tensions in the Middle East over the Israeli invasion of Lebanon.

Dublin

It was a mixed view from a banking perspective on Friday. AIB rose 1.78 per cent to €5.15; Bank of Ireland dropped marginally by 0.02 per cent to €9.20; and PTSB fell by 0.30 per cent to finish at €1.64. Homebuilders Cairn Homes rose by 1.49 per cent to €2.05 and Glenveagh Properties was up by 1.50 per cent to €1.62.

Food suppliers Kerry Group fell by 0.27 per cent to €93.04 a share while Glanbia rose 0.99 per cent to €15.31. Ryanair was up 0.78 to €16.87 a share, outperforming its European peers. Dalata Hotels rose 0.75 per cent to €4.04 at the close of the market on Friday.

London

Britain’s economy grew in August after two consecutive months of stagnation, providing some relief to finance minister Rachel Reeves ahead of the new Labour government’s first budget later this month.

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Economic output rose by 0.2 per cent in monthly terms in August, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics that were in line with expectations in a Reuters poll of economists.

Ms Reeves welcomed the news on Friday and said economic growth was a top priority for the government.

All major sectors showed growth in August, the statistics office said, but weaker-than-expected growth in the dominant services sector was offset by a strong rebound in manufacturing and construction.

It left unrevised its estimates for monthly gross domestic output for July and June, when the economy stagnated, but revised down its estimates for April and May to -0.1 per cent and +0.2 per cent, respectively, compared with previous estimates of 0.0 per cent and +0.4 per cent.

Europe

European stocks reversed early losses and ended Friday at more than a one-week high as investors shifted their focus to updates on China’s stimulus plans, corporate earnings and an interest rate decision by the European Central Bank.

The continentwide Stoxx 600 index ended up 0.5 per cent, and was on track for weekly gains of 0.6 per cent.

Markets closed a volatile week that saw Shanghai markets drop on uncertainty around policy support, oil prices spike on Middle East tensions and US data raise doubts about sustained cooling of inflation.

Germany’s Dax and Spain’s Ibex closed up 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.

France’s blue-chip Cac 40 reversed early losses and ended higher after the government delivered its 2025 budget with plans for €60 billion ($65.5 billion) worth of spending cuts and tax hikes on the wealthy and big companies.

Overall, there was a sense of caution as investors awaited China’s finance ministry’s press conference on Saturday, with expectations of stimulus announcements running high.

New York

JPMorgan Chase climbed 5 per cent after posting a surprise gain in net interest income and raising its forecast for the key revenue source. Wells Fargo jumped 5.6 per cent as profit beat estimates.

Traders also waded through economic readings. A measure of prices paid to US producers was unchanged in September, suggesting further progress towards tamer inflation. Consumer sentiment unexpectedly fell for the first time in three months as lingering frustration with a high cost of living offset more sanguine views of the job market.

The S&P 500 rose 0.6 per cent, the Nasdaq was up 0.1 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average had risen 0.8 per cent by midmorning. Tesla dropped 7.7 per cent after the unveiling of its highly anticipated self-driving taxi was light on specifics. Uber Technologies and Lyft climbed at least 9.3 per cent. Additional reporting: agencies

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