Stock markets were mixed on Tuesday, as traders awaited inflation data from the US and UK due on Wednesday for clues on whether interest rate cuts would continue.
Dublin
The Iseq Overall Index finished up 0.87 per cent, finishing at a price of 9,605.80. Housebuilders Cairn Homes fell 2.37 per cent to €2.06 a share, even as the firm reported a 29 per cent rise in revenue over the last 12 months. The results showed a fall in the average sale price for homes from €389,000 in 2023 to €383,000 last year. Glenveagh Properties fell 1.99 per cent to €1.48.
AIB was up 0.81 per cent to €5.58 and Bank of Ireland increased by 0.87 per cent to €9.06. Dalata Hotels rose 2.62 per cent to €4.70. Ryanair rose 2.01 per cent to €18.53.
London
The blue-chip FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 per cent to close at a two-week low, as profit warnings from BP and JD Sports weighed on the index, while midcap stocks steadied after a recent slump.
JD Sports Fashion tumbled 6.8 per cent as the sportswear retailer downgraded its profit forecast after weaker trading in Britain and the United States and promotional activity at competitors hurt sales.
The domestically-focused FTSE 250 midcap index rose 0.2 per cent after touching an eight-month low in the prior session.
Ocado Group jumped 9.5 per cent after online supermarket Ocado Retail, a joint venture between Ocado and Marks & Spencer, reported faster sales growth in its fourth quarter.
UK equities have come under pressure in recent days as investors fret over the likelihood of fewer interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve and inflationary policies under incoming US president Donald Trump.
British government bond yields slipped on Tuesday after touching multiyear highs this month.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 was up 0.48 per cent on Tuesday after experiencing a 1.4 per cent dip over the previous two sessions. France’s benchmark index Cac 40 rose 0.2 per cent. In Germany, the Dax index was up 0.69 per cent.
The healthcare sector was the heaviest drag on the benchmark index, slipping by 1.6 per cent.
The energy sector also felt the heat, dropping nearly 1 per cent as BP saw its shares fall 2.5 per cent following an announcement that lower refining margins would dent its fourth-quarter profit by $100 million to $300 million.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Tuesday as investors turned their attention to the upcoming inflation reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell or 0.10 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.21 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.29 per cent.
Five of the 11 S&P 500 sectors slipped, with health stocks down 1.4 per cent. Eli Lilly lost 7.1 per cent after it forecast fourth-quarter sales of weight-loss drug Zepbound below estimates.
Markets also weighed a report that said that president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration was considering gradual tariff hikes, including a plan to increase import duties by 2 per cent to 5 per cent a month.
Boeing fell 2.7 per cent after the aircraft maker’s annual deliveries dropped in 2024 to their lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wall Street’s main indexes have witnessed a downward trend since early December, with the price-weighted Dow losing more than 5 per cent from the record high it hit last month, and the benchmark S&P 500 close to a two-month low.
The Fed’s cautious stance on monetary policy easing this year, along with subsequent batches of upbeat economic data, raised investor concerns that US inflation could be running high. Additional reporting: agencies
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