European shares closed slightly lower on Thursday after the ECB eased borrowing rates as expected, while investors parsed corporate earnings to gauge the fallout of US President Donald Trump’s erratic trade plans.
Dublin
The ISEQ all share index was down 1.75 per cent at the close to 9,967.91. The pillar banks both saw declines by the close in an extension of Wednesday trade, with AIB falling 4.19 per cent to €5.485, and Bank of Ireland down 1.83 per cent to €10.17.
That followed a much-anticipated decision by the ECB to lower borrowing costs. Permanent TSB, meanwhile, was up 2.37 per cent to €1.515.
The Dalata Hotel Group was down 0.39 per cent to €5.13. That closing price came just before the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission announced it was to carry out an investigation into the proposed purchase of CG Hotels Limited by DHGL Limited, an indirect subsidiary of Dalata.
Kingspan, whose chief executive Gene Murtagh secured “qualified” support from a big shareholder advisory firm for his re-election to the group’s board next month, closed 3.35 per cent down at €70.75.
Cairn Homes declined 0.42 per cent to €1.88, while Glenveagh went in the other direction, up 2.76 per cent with a listing of €1.564. Kenmare Resources was flat at €4.60 after its former managing director Michael Carvill was given a further four weeks to announce a firm intention to bid for the company.
London
Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 index posted its biggest weekly gain since October 2022 ahead of the Easter break, although it was little moved on the day as gains from Rentokil and Sainsbury offset weakness elsewhere.
The mid-cap FTSE 250 index dipped 0.08 per cent, but was also higher on the week, with the biggest such jump since January.
Leading the gains, an index of housebuilders rose for a second consecutive session, adding 1.3 per cent, after the ECB cut interest rates.
Sainsbury’s rose 3.6 per cent while British meal delivery company Deliveroo rose 3.3 per cent after its orders in the first quarter jumped 7 per cent.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 0.1 per cent lower, though clocked a more than 4 per cent weekly jump in a holiday-shortened week.
Trading Volumes were relatively lower on Thursday ahead of a four-day weekend on account of Good Friday and Easter Monday.
The ECB cut interest rates for the seventh time in a year, bringing the deposit rate to 2.25 per cent in a move to prop up confidence in an already struggling economy.
The STOXX 600 is down about 10 per cent from its March record closing high, and more than 5 per cent down from levels seen before Mr Trump’s now-delayed reciprocal tariffs sparked a global market rout.
Tech stocks and euro zone banks were the top subsector laggards in Europe, down more than 1 per cent each.
Siemens Energy jumped 10.5 per cent after the German energy group raised its outlook for the current fiscal year and posted its best profit margin since being spun off from former parent Siemens AG.
New York
US stocks churned as traders digested earnings reports while trying to gauge the impact of president Donald Trump’s tariff offensive and invectives directed at the head of the central bank.
The S&P 500 eked out a small gain in choppy trading, with a slump in health insurers weighing on the equities benchmark. Shares of Alphabet Inc fell after a federal judge found Google was illegally monopolising.
In the bond market, yields on Treasuries climbed after a $25 billion auction of five-year Treasury inflation-protected securities.
In earnings news, UnitedHealth Group Inc plunged after the company cut its earnings outlook for the year and reported first-quarter earnings below estimates. Shares in other health insurers tumbled.
TSMC’s US-listed shares rose after the main chipmaker for Nvidia Corp and Apple Inc forecast sales for the second quarter that beat analyst estimates.
Elsewhere, Eli Lilly & Co soared on positive data from a weight-loss pill study. – Reuters, Bloomberg
