European shares ended higher on Wednesday, boosted by healthcare stocks such as Roche Holdings and AstraZeneca and stabilising after losses on Tuesday.
Dublin
Strong performances by big components boosted the Iseq All-Share index by 1.37 per cent ending at 11,297.50.
The index outperforming its European counterparts in trading on Wednesday, with insulation and building materials specialist, Kingspan Group leading the big caps by adding 2.82 per cent to its share price.
A soaring Ryanair rose 2.11 per cent, flying high on sectoral gains as airliners generally performed well.
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It was a good day for the banks, Permanent TSB added 1.77 per cent to its share price, with AIB and Bank of Ireland close at their heels, up 1.5 per cent and 0.94 per cent, respectively.
Cairn Homes fell 1.86 per cent after the home builder published its latest interim results showing after-tax profits fell by almost a third to €31.7 million in the first six months of the year.
London
Stocks in London rallied on Wednesday amid a calmer day on bond markets, supported by figures showing the UK services sector grew at its fastest rate since April 2024.
The FTSE 100 index closed up 0.7 per cent at 9,177.99, with the mid-cap FTSE 250 adding 0.7 per cent to 21,313.07.
London-based industrial equipment hire company, Ashtead rose 0.8 per cent as it raised cash flow guidance and stuck with its rental revenue growth view for the current financial year.
Hilton Food plunged 17 per cent after it said a shortage of white fish prompted “significant” raw material inflation and softer UK demand, contributing to a drop in half-year profitability.
The Huntingdon-based food packaging company reported pretax profit of £24.3 million (€28 million) for the 26 weeks that ended June 29th, falling 4.7 per cent from £25.5 million the year before.
Weaker UK seafood demand has been driven by quota cuts leading to “significant” raw material inflation, the firm said.
Fresnillo and Endeavour Mining rose 8.1 per cent and 3.6 per cent respectively, reflecting the latest gains in the gold price.
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Europe
The continentwide STOXX 600 index closed 0.65 per cent higher at 546.72 points, boosted by healthcare stocks such as Roche Holdings and AstraZeneca.
Meanwhile, Adidas climbed 4.8 per cent after brokerage Jefferies raised its rating on the German sportswear brand to “buy” from “hold” and J.P. Morgan placed it on a positive catalyst watch. STOXX 600’s retail subindex jumped 1.5 per cent.
German airline Lufthansa dipped 0.4 per cent. Germany’s VC pilots’ union called for a strike late on Tuesday after the collapse of talks to the airline on its pension scheme.
Swiss Life fell 1.2 per cent after the insurer posted a lower first-half net profit due to higher tax expenses.
Insurance companies are among the top investors in longer-dated bonds, and a sell-off in bonds could weigh on their portfolio valuations. The sector lost 0.5 per cent on Wednesday and has declined 2.5 per cent this week.
Genmab jumped 5.1 per cent after the company said new trial results showed its cancer drug Epcoritamab can be given in an outpatient setting for adults with relapsed or refractory lymphoma.
New York
US stocks advanced on Wednesday, poised to snap a two-day losing streak by midafternoon trading.
Alphabet and Apple rose sharply after a US antitrust ruling on Tuesday which rejected the US government’s demand that Alphabet sell its Chrome web browser was seen as a big win for the Google parent and the iPhone maker. The court’s remedies were thought to be more favourable for Google than anticipated.
After the close, investors will be watching for Salesforce Inc.’s results. Shares of the software giant were little changed in late morning trading; they’ve tumbled about 24 per cent this year as investors see the company “firmly in the AI loser camp,” according to Mizuho Securities.
Discount variety retailer Dollar Tree sank after reporting second-quarter results marred by issues surrounding inventories and the impact from tariffs.
Fellow retailer Macy’s soared after raising its annual outlook and reporting its best comparable sales growth in three years.
American Bitcoin, a Trump-linked Bitcoin mining and treasury company, rose in its first day of trading. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
