European shares rose, capping off a holiday-shortened week with bourses across the region notching up gains.
Dublin
The Irish index of shares closed the week marginally lower, falling 0.11 per cent to finish at 9700.
Among the decliners on the day were Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB, with the latter falling by 1.4 per cent and BOI down just under 1 per cent over the session. AIB outperformed its peers, rising 0.7 per cent. Volumes were lower on stocks due to the holiday period.
Elsewhere on the market, Ryanair stocks were down 0.85 per cent, while Irish Continental Group was down more than 3.4 per cent on thin volumes.
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London
Britain’s benchmark FTSE 100 inched higher on Friday as gains in energy stocks were capped by losses in miners, while both indexes clocked gains for the holiday-shortened week.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was up 0.2 per cent, for a 0.7 per cent weekly gain, its best in five weeks. The midcap FTSE 250 was down 0.4 per cent, but clocked a weekly gain of 0.6 per cent, for the first time in three weeks.
Beverages led sectoral gains with a 1.4 per cent rise while the energy sector rose 0.7 per cent as oil prices nudged up on expectations of a stimulus-driven recovery in the world’s biggest oil importer, China.
Retailers led sector losses and slid 1.5 per cent. Precious and industrial metal miners fell 0.8 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively, as gold prices eased and copper remained steady.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index clocked its first weekly advance in three on Friday, closing 0.7 per cent up, hitting its highest level in a week and gaining about 1 per cent in a week where trading volumes were below average and several markets were shut throughout the period.
Most bourses across the region also closed up, with Germany’s DAX rising 0.7 per cent, France’s CAC 40 adding 1 per cent.
On the day, autos was the biggest percentage advancer, up 1.4 per cent. Aiding gains on the broader benchmark was healthcare which rose almost 1 per cent on the back of a 2.1 per cent rise in heavyweight Novo Nordisk.
Despite the STOXX 600′s record highs earlier this year, its overall gain for 2024 stands at a modest 5.2 per cent. A mix of geopolitical tensions, sluggish Chinese spending, and a lacklustre domestic economic outlook have contributed to this slow momentum.
New York
Tech and growth stocks dragged Wall Street’s main indexes lower on Friday, at the end of an upbeat holiday-shortened week driven by expectations around a traditionally strong period for markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 183.4 points, or 0.42 per cent, at the open to 43,142.37. The S&P 500 fell 31.4 points, or 0.52 per cent, at the open to 6,006.17, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 123.6 points, or 0.62 per cent, to 19,896.767 at the opening bell.
“It feels like US equity markets and investors here are tepid heading into the end of the year. Nobody wants to be making any major moves before 2025 when the new administration comes in,” said Clayton Allison, portfolio manager at Prime Capital Financial.
With three sessions left to close out the year, investors are hoping for new all-time highs in the stock-buying season called the “Santa Claus rally” – the last five sessions of December and the first two of January.
Among individual movers, Amedisys gained 4 per cent after the home health service provider and insurer UnitedHealth extended the deadline to close their $3.3 billion merger. – Additional reporting: Reuters
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