European shares closed higher on Tuesday, buoyed by gains in the energy sector, while investors digested a slew of economic data that painted a mixed picture of the region’s economic health.
Dublin
The Iseq finished in positive territory, having spent much of the early part of the session in the doldrums. The index climbed 0.7 per cent, led higher by a 3.25 per cent gain for Ryanair.
The airline closed at €19.22 on a day that also saw advances for food groups Kerry and Glanbia. Kerry climbed 1 per cent to €93.85, while Glanbia finished up 1.5 per cent at €13.74.
Kingspan edged lower, however, with the building materials company closing down 0.3 per cent at €69.95, and the banks were also in the red on a weak day for financial stocks generally, with Bank of Ireland down 1.1 per cent at €8.74 and AIB slipping 0.2 per cent to €5.36.
London
The UK’s FTSE 100 nudged down 0.1 per cent as declines in banking stocks offset gains in energy shares, and the market awaited economic data from around the globe to gauge the monetary policy outlook.
The domestically focused FTSE 250 dropped 1.3 per cent to a one-week low.
Financial stocks were the main drags on the FTSE 100, with heavyweight HSBC down 1.1 per cent and NatWest Group off 3.5 per cent.
Adding to the gloom, data showed activity in Britain’s construction industry grew at the slowest pace in six months in December and British house prices dropped unexpectedly last month for the first time since March.
Taylor Wimpey dropped 4.5 per cent after Barclays downgraded its rating to “equal-weight” from “overweight”, while fashion retailer Next advanced 3.8 per cent after it raised its annual profit outlook for the fourth time in six months following a strong Christmas season.
Europe
Europe’s benchmark index closed up 0.3 per cent at 513.08 points, a level not seen in three weeks, as traders speculated on the implications of rising inflation and looming interest rate decisions.
The latest data showed an uptick in euro zone inflation for December – a development that, while expected, added a layer of intrigue to the economic narrative.
While the consensus remains that the European Central Bank is likely to proceed with interest rate cuts in January, in the markets the rate-sensitive real estate sector dropped 0.6 per cent.
The energy sector gained 0.8 per cent, with Norwegian oil tanker group Frontline jumping 7.4 per cent.
Industrial goods and services gained 0.4 per cent, boosted by a 9.6 per cent, rise in German heavy machinery & vehicles supplier Kion Group, The company has partnered with Nvidia and IT services provider Accenture to optimise supply chains with AI technologies.
But Sodexo slid 7.8 per cent after the French food caterer missed market expectations on first-quarter organic revenue.
US
Wall Street’s main indexes slipped in early trading, weighed down by technology stocks after a batch of upbeat economic data stoked uncertainty among investors about the pace of monetary policy easing that the Federal Reserve could pursue this year.
Signs of continued resilience in the economy have pushed back expectations on when the central bank can deliver its first interest rate cut this year, with traders betting on the move to come in June, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Healthcare stocks led gains among S&P 500 sectors with a 1 per cent rise. Vaccine makers such as Moderna Novavax and Pfizer surged on growing concerns around bird flu.
Tesla dropped 2.9 per cent after BofA Global Research downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “buy”.
Micron Technology rose 5 per cent after Nvidia boss Jensen Huang said the chipmaker was providing memory for its GeForce RTX 50 Blackwell family of gaming chips.
Big banks such as Citigroup added 0.3 per cent on bullish coverage from Truist Securities, while Bank of America climbed 0.6 per cent after positive ratings from at least three brokerages.
Additional reporting: Reuters
