European shares made cautious gains after US president Donald Trump said on Friday that China had violated an agreement on tariffs and issued a new threat to get tougher with Beijing.
Europe’s defensive sectors, such as utilities and healthcare, outperformed the big performers amid the tension between the world’s two biggest economies.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index ended the session at 11,411.72, dropping 63.45 or 0.55 per cent. The index opened on a high, but a late surge was unable to counteract steady losses throughout the day.
Ryanair was one of the biggest losers in the day, and by far the most traded stock, dropping 1.56 per cent to €23.37. It came following the news that shares in the budget airline closed above €21 for a 28th consecutive day on Thursday, meeting a key performance target, with boss Michael O’Leary reportedly set to net a €100 million bonus as a result.
Home builders declined on Friday, Cairn Homes dropped 2.89 per cent to €2.185. Kingspan Group fell 1.50 per cent to €75.50 and Irish Residential Properties REIT plc dropped 0.74 per cent to €1.072. Glenveagh Plc also retreated, dropping to €1.798, a decrease of 0.33 per cent.
These losses were counteracted by defensive stocks Glanbia and Kerry Group, up 1.59 per cent to €12.80 and 0.05 per cent to €96.20 respectively.
LONDON
British equities ended higher on Friday. The blue-chip FTSE 100 gained 0.6 per cent and the midcap FTSE 250 rose 0.1 per cent. The benchmark index posted its best month in four. The mid-cap index posted its best month since July 2024.
M&G said it had partnered with Japanese life insurer Dai-ichi Life to accelerate the group’s expansion into European private markets, and give it greater access to markets in Japan and across Asia.
Dai-ichi Life plans to buy a 15 per cent stake in M & G as part of the deal, the firm said, which would make it the largest shareholder in the British investment firm. Shares in M & G rose 5.5 per cent on Friday, making it the biggest riser on the FTSE 100.
BP announced it has appointed David Hager to its board of directors, who joins following a 40-year career in the oil and gas industry, including as the former chief executive of Devon Energy.
Mr Hager “brings deep-rooted knowledge of the US upstream oil and gas industry”, BP’s chair Helge Lund said. BP’s shares closed 0.5 per cent higher.
EUROPE
The continentwide STOXX 600 index ended 0.1 per cent higher, brushing off a temporary reinstatement of the most sweeping of Trump’s tariffs on Thursday, a day after another court ordered an immediate block on them.
On the day, most sectors were higher, with utilities and healthcare shares up 0.8 per cent each, while construction and materials stocks were at the bottom, down 1 per cent.
Europe’s aerospace and defence index was the top winning sector for the month, up about 14 per cent, as dimming hopes of a truce between Russia and Ukraine persuaded investors to buy ammunition stocks.
M&G gained 5.5 per cent after it said Japanese life insurer Dai-Ichi Life Holdings will take a 15 per cent stake in the British insurer and asset manager as part of a strategic deal.
French pharmaceutical company Sanofi fell 4.8 per cent to a more than one-year low after its experimental drug Itepekimab failed to meet certain conditions.
Carrefour fell 6 per cent to the bottom of the STOXX 600 as the French food retailer traded without entitlement to its latest dividend payout on Friday.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indexes were under pressure in late-afternoon trading on Friday as Mr Trump accused China of violating a tariff agreement, ramping up tensions in a bruising trade war and clouding the last day of an otherwise strong month for equities.
Most megacap and growth stocks fell, with Nvidia dropping in the aftermath of its results-driven rally on Thursday.
Seven of the 11 big S&P 500 subsectors fell, with energy and information technology declining the most.
Among other big movers on the day, Ulta Beauty jumped after the cosmetics retailer raised its annual profit forecast after beating quarterly results.
Shares of drugmaker Regeneron fell sharply after its experimental drug for patients with a type of lung condition commonly called “smoker’s lung” failed a late-stage trial, although it succeeded in another. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg, PA.
