Global stocks were shaken on Tuesday after it was revealed US consumer confidence fell this month by the most since August 2021 on concerns about the outlook for the broader economy.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin outperformed international peers as it rose 0.5 per cent.
Bank of Ireland’s stock price rose 2 per cent to above €11 as the market responded well to the start of its share buyback. AIB, meanwhile, was up 1 per cent at close of business.
Elsewhere, Ryanair was unchanged amid a mixed bag for the airlines with EasyJet and International Airlines Group both down marginally.
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Among the food names, Kerry Group finished the day up 0.7 per cent, while Glanbia was unchanged.
It was a good day too for agri-services group Origin Enterprises, which finished up 2.5 per cent.
It was more of a struggle for the housebuilders, with Glenveagh Properties and Cairn Homes each down about 0.7 per cent by the end of trading.
London
Britain’s FTSE 100 edged higher with defence stocks rising after prime minister Keir Starmer announced an increase in UK defence spending, while Unilever slipped after CEO Hein Schumacher’s surprise exit.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.1 per cent, ending a five-session losing streak but still traded near its lowest level in about three weeks.
Defence group BAE Systems gained 4.7 per cent and Rolls-Royce climbed 1.4 per cent after Starmer said he would increase annual defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2027 and target a 3 per cent level last seen just after the end of the Cold War in 1989-90.
Also buoying the FTSE 100 was a 6.1 per cent rise in Smith+Nephew after the medical products maker reported annual sales and profit broadly in-line with expectations.
On the flip side, Unilever shed 1.3 per cent as the consumer goods group surprised investors by ousting chief executive Hein Schumacher and replacing him with finance chief Fernando Fernandez.
The midcap FTSE 250 dipped 0.2 per cent, with CMC Markets dropping 6.2 per cent after the trading platform said finance chief Albert Soleiman would step down.
Europe
Euro zone bond yields edged lower while markets weighed signs that Germany could approve a boost in defence spending before the outgoing parliament quits, a move likely to require more borrowing.
Traders considered a report that Germany is discussing €200 billion for an emergency defence fund as the country digests its election result.
Germany’s 10-year Bund yield – a benchmark for the wider euro area – was down one basis point at 2.457 per cent. Yields move inversely to prices.
Italy’s 10-year yield was down 3 basis points at 3.531 per cent. The yield gap between Italian and German government bonds was 106.8 basis points.
On the stock markets, the Cac 40 in Paris was down 0.49 per cent, while, in Frankfurt, the Dax moved 0.13 per cent lower.
New York
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led Wall Street declined, hitting a six-week low after fresh economic data indicated a deterioration in consumer sentiment and investors braced for the potential impact of tighter US trade curbs on Beijing.
Chipmaker Nvidia dropped 2.9 per cent, while other semiconductor stocks also fell, with the broader Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index down 1.6 per cent.
Most megacap stocks traded lower, with Microsoft and Meta Platforms down 0.8 per cent and 1.8 per cent, respectively, while Tesla led losses with a 5.6 per cent decline.
Seven of the S&P 500’s 11 sectors traded lower, with technology stocks leading losses with a 1.4 per cent decline. Defensive sector consumer staples led gains with a 1.4 per cent rise.
Eli Lilly rose 2.5 per cent after the drugmaker said it has begun selling higher doses of its weight-loss drug Zepbound in vials in the U.S., at a discount to the injector-pen versions. – Additional reporting: Agencies
