European shares closed out a holiday-shortened week lower on Friday, with heavyweight luxury firms and spirits makers leading losses, though focus remained on economic data for clues on the interest rate path and potential changes in US policies under a Donald Trump presidency.
Dublin
The Irish index of shares ended the first week of the new year in negative territory, fuelled by a decline in leisure and some constructions stocks. The Euronext Dublin fell just under 1 per cent on Friday, mirroring the declines seen across its European peers.
Trading volumes were thin over the week, shortened by the new year’s holiday.
Kingspan fell about 2 per cent to close the week at €68.65, while home builder Cairn also finished off the pace, shedding 1.7 per cent. Fellow construction company Glenveagh saw its share price rise about half a per cent over the day.
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Ryanair shares fell 2 per cent, while hotels group Dalata shed almost 2.6 per cent over the session.
Food group Kerry rose 0.7 per cent, while Bank of Ireland gained half a per cent.
London
London’s FTSE 100 index logged its sharpest drop in over two weeks on Friday, weighed by declines in spirits maker Diageo, while investors parsed through some of the first data sets in 2025.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 fell 0.4 per cent, but clocked a 1.4 per cent weekly gain, logging its second straight week of gains and its best in six weeks.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.2 per cent but logged its best week in four with a gain of 0.7 per cent.
Diageo fell 3.9 per cent after the US surgeon general urged cancer warnings for alcoholic drinks. The stock was the worst performer on the FTSE 100 and dragged the beverages sector down 3.4 per cent, leading losses.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.5 per cent lower in light trade after the new year holidays.
China-exposed sectors such as miners, luxury stocks and automakers came under pressure even after a Beijing official said the country would sharply increase funding from ultra-long treasury bonds in 2025 to spur business investment and consumer-boosting initiatives.
The French bourse, which houses most of Europe’s top luxury names, fell 1.5 per cent – its biggest single-day decline in more than seven weeks.
Separately, Milan-listed shares of Stellantis eased 3.5 per cent after data showed vehicle production by the car maker in Italy fell by 37 per cent last year and sales also fell in December.
European spirits makers and brewers sold off, with Italian spirits group Campari dropping 5.2 per cent, while Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch InBev shed 2.8 per cent.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes moved higher on Friday as technology stocks rebounded from a losing streak, while investors geared up for potential policy shifts under the incoming Trump administration.
In morning trading in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.43 per cent, to 42,569.94, the S&P 500 gained 0.81 per cent, to 5,915.99 and the Nasdaq Composite added 1.24 per cent, to 19,519.58.
All 11 S&P 500 sectors were trading in positive territory, with the information technology sector bouncing back 1.3 per cent after falling for the past four sessions. Nvidia was driving gains on all three big indexes.
Wall Street had a dour start to the new year, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq erasing early gains to close lower for a fifth straight session on Thursday, bucking a historical trend where markets rally in the last five sessions of December and the first two sessions of January.
All three big indexes were on track to log weekly declines of about 1 per cent each.
Alcoholic beverage makers such as Constellation Brands dropped 1.1 per cent, Molson Coors lost 2.3 per cent, and Brown-Forman slipped 1.5 per cent. – Additional reporting: Reuters
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