European shares closed at a record high on Thursday, as investors cheered upbeat earnings from German industrial giant Siemens, while sentiment was also buoyed by signs that Russia’s nearly three-year-long conflict with Ukraine could end soon.
Focus was also on Trump’s plans to unveil reciprocal tariffs after the close of markets, against which European officials have vowed to respond.
Dublin
The Iseq rose 0.6 per cent amid gains for several key stocks. Building materials group Kingspan closed almost 1.9 per cent higher at €68.85, while it was another good day for Ryanair, which advanced 1 per cent to €20.31.
Food group Kerry added 0.8 per cent to close at €99.25, while AIB posted a 1.1 per cent gain to finish at €6.04. Bank of Ireland, however, declined 2.1 per cent to €9.99, erasing part of the 3.3 per cent rise it secured in the previous day’s trading session.
London
British stocks were mixed as consumer giants Unilever and British American Tobacco pressured the export-heavy FTSE 100 index. The blue-chip index fell by 0.5 per cent, marking its worst performance in nearly two weeks, after reaching consecutive record highs over the past three sessions, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 gained 0.2 per cent.
Heavyweight Unilever lost 5.6 per cent, logging its worst session in over three years, after the Ben & Jerry’s maker gave a dour outlook. The company picked Amsterdam over London and New York as the primary listing for its ice cream spin off.
British American Tobacco slipped 8.8 per cent, its biggest daily decline since March 2020, after the company took a £6.2 billion (€7.45 billion) hit from a Canadian lawsuit. Barclays lost 4.7 per cent after hitting its highest level since March 2011 on Wednesday.
Coca Cola HBC jumped 7.4 per cent after the bottler’s full-year results topped expectations. Vistry Group gained 4.3 per cent after Boston-based investment firm Abrams Capital increased its stake in the UK housebuilder.
Among sectoral moves, the aerospace and defence sector gained 1.5 per cent after Jefferies suggested any drop due to a potential Ukraine-Russia ceasefire should be seen as a buying opportunity, with Europe expected to increase its defence spending.
Activist investor Elliott Management acquired nearly a 5 per cent stake in oil major BP.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 1 per cent, while mid-cap stocks rose 1.1 per cent to touch their highest since January 2022.
The German Dax rose 2 per cent, with the French Cac 40 adding 1.5 per cent.
Siemens, often viewed as a proxy for the health of the broader industrial economy, advanced 7.2 per cent after its first quarter beat estimates, and it highlighted signs of recovering demand from customers in sectors like electronics and semiconductors.
Auto stocks led sectoral gains on the Stoxx 600 with a 4.4 per cent jump – its biggest one-day rise in a year, also aided by a 4.9 per cent jump in Michelin after the French tyre maker posted better-than-expected full-year results.
Further, Swiss stocks gained 1.8 per cent, with Nestle leading with a 6.2 per cent jump after the Nescafe coffee maker reported better-than-expected annual sales growth.
US
Wall Street’s main indexes moved higher on Thursday as investors parsed the latest producer prices data, while the prospect of Russia-Ukraine peace talks spurred some risk-taking.
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.4 per cent last month after an upwardly revised 0.5 per cent gain in December, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
Mega-caps were mixed, although Tesla and Nvidia outperformed with a rise of 3.2 per cent and 1.3 per cent.
Trade Desk dropped 31.4 per cent after the advertising tech firm forecast its first-quarter revenue below analysts’ estimates.
Cisco Systems added 2.4 per cent after the network-equipment maker raised its annual revenue forecast, while Robinhood Markets jumped 11.9 per cent as the trading platform beat fourth-quarter profit expectations. – Additional reporting: Reuters
