Global stocks were trading higher on Friday, although they were set for a weekly loss amid US election jitters, while oil prices rose due to concerns about fighting in the Middle East.
European shares had a choppy session on Friday, as a handful of weak corporate earnings from auto-related companies such as Mercedes-Benz and Valeo and appliances-maker Electrolux dented investor sentiment.
Dublin
The Irish stock market dipped on Friday, mirroring its European counterparts as big shares dipped and construction stocks shed some of their value.
Shares in AIB were down 1.62 per cent on Friday afternoon, while Bank of Ireland lost 0.63 per cent. Permanent TSB saw its stock gain more than 6.5 per cent, but volumes were lower.
Insurer FBD gained 0.4 per cent to close at €12.70.
Shares in food groups Glanbia and Kerry fared better, with the latter up 0.26 per cent by the close of the session, and Glanbia rising 0.38 per cent.
London
London’s blue-chip stock index slipped on Friday as investors assessed a mixed bag of corporate earnings in advance of a highly awaited first budget from the country’s new government next week.
The FTSE 100 was down 0.3 per cent, while the domestically focused mid-cap FTSE 250 edged up 0.1 per cent. Both the indexes recorded weekly declines.
The FTSE 350 medical equipment & services index was the worst-hit sector on the day, down 2.5 per cent, weighed down by Smith & Nephew.
Shares in Close Brothers Group slumped 25 per cent and Lloyds dropped 7.3 per cent after a London court ruled that motor finance brokers must fully inform customers about commissions when taking out car loans.
On the flip side, British bank NatWest climbed 0.6 per cent after it raised its income forecast for 2024.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed flat for the second straight day and logged its first weekly loss in three, with real estate stocks among the worst-hit sectors for the week.
Germany’s Mercedes-Benz dropped 1 per cent after third-quarter earnings in its core car division missed estimates by a wide margin.
Valeo added to the sector’s woes, tanking 9.5 per cent as the automotive supplier cut its annual sales guidance for the second time this year.
Electrolux slumped 14.6 per cent to the bottom of the main index after missing third-quarter earnings expectations on continuing US losses and rising competition from China.
In bright spots, lights-maker Signify jumped 10 per cent and topped the STOXX as a largely in-line quarterly report and expectations of cost-cutting measures provided relief. Sanofi added 2.5 per cent and topped the French CAC 40 index after the drugmaker posted stronger earnings growth than analysts had expected in the third quarter, boosted by an earlier-than-anticipated start to the vaccination season.
New York
The benchmark S&P 500 was on track to finish the week slightly lower, although gains in technology and communication services stocks were pushing the index higher on the session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16 per cent to 42,308.60, the S&P 500 rose 0.49 per cent to 5,838.33 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.15 per cent to 18,627.44.
Biotech Septerna’s shares rose about 31 per cent in their market debut on Friday, giving the Goldman Sachs-backed firm a valuation of $970 million (€898 million).
The company’s shares opened at $23.5 in their Nasdaq debut, compared with the IPO price of $18. Septerna upsized its offering twice on Thursday to sell 16 million shares, to raise $288 million.
Meanwhile, Chinese self-driving start-up WeRide’s shares opened flat in their Nasdaq debut on Friday.
– additional reporting: Reuters
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