European shares ended in the green on Thursday following the announcement by US president Donald Trump that a trade deal had been agreed with Britain to lower tariffs. The first such agreement since the implementation of tariffs gave investors some relief.
In Dublin, the Government is on track to sell its final shares in AIB within months after the bank proceeded with a buyback of €1.2 billion of taxpayers’ shares, following a rally by its stock on Wednesday to €6.245, just off the price of €6.26 agreed upon by Government.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index ended the session at 10,838.03, up 0.33 per cent, led by the banking sector.
Alongside AIB, Permanent TSB rose 1.48 per cent to €1.715. Bank of Ireland followed suit, surging 1.16 per cent to €10.865 – a recovery of more than €1.50 since the announcement of tariffs impaired the stock’s value in early April.
Cairn Homes rose 3.58 per cent to €2.055 following a trading update, issued before its agm affirmed its confidence in its full-year guidance against the backdrop of a “very positive trading environment”.
Irish Continental Group rose to €5.15, an increase of 0.78 per cent following its agm today, Uniphar saw a 3.54 per cent boost after announcing its “very strong” profit growth and financial performance was in line with expectations at its agm too.
LONDON
The midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.6 per cent, posting its highest close in more than two months, while the FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent despite the announcement of the UK trade deal.
Shares of luxury car company Aston Martin climbed close to 14 per cent, among the top gainers on the midcap index.
Rolls-Royce closed 3.7 per cent higher after US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick said they will allow engines and plane parts from the jet engine maker to come in to the US tariff-free. The broader Aerospace and Defence subindex climbed 2.5 per cent.
Earlier in the day, the Bank of England cut interest rates as expected although the uncertain impact of tariffs on economic growth brought a surprise three-way split among policymakers.
Among other stocks, IMI emerged as the top performer in the blue-chip index, gaining 5.1 per cent, after the specialist engineering company reaffirmed the financial year 2025 outlook.
Renishaw soared 18.6 per cent to the top of the midcap index after the engineering firm decided to shut loss-making drug delivery unit.
EUROPE
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.4 per cent higher, with most regional indexes also concluding the day in green.
On the day, the region-wide defence index led the sector gains by rising about 3 per cent. Leading ammunition maker Rheinmetall jumped 4.1 per cent after reaffirming it could exceed its 2025 guidance, citing higher demand from Germany, Ukraine and other European nations.
Other defence stocks such as Renk rose 4.1 per cent, Thyssenkrupp ticked up 1 per cent and Hensoldt’s advanced 7.6 per cent.
In contrast, the utilities and healthcare stocks fell 2 per cent and 1.5 per cent, respectively, to limited overall gains.
Among individual stocks, Securitas fell 6.4 per cent after the Swedish security firm reported a smaller-than-expected rise in its first-quarter core profit.
Beer brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev added 3.2 per cent after the company reported a nearly 8 per cent rise in first-quarter operating profit, beating analysts’ estimate by more than double.
Siemens Energy gained 3.3 per cent after the power equipment maker’s second-quarter net profit significantly exceeded expectations.
Shares of Holmen jumped 7.1 per cent after the Swedish paper products maker’s operating profit beat expectations.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indexes had climbed in early morning trading on Thursday as investors assessed the trade agreements.
Airline stocks jumped after the US-UK agreement exempted plane parts made by Rolls-Royce from tariffs, and Mr Lutnick said the UK would buy $10 billion of Boeing aircraft, leading to a leap in the planemaker’s shares.
Energy stocks led gains among the S&P 500’s 11 sectors, tracking a jump in crude prices. Most megacap and growth stocks were higher, with Tesla leading gains.
Semiconductor stocks inched higher, building on the previous session’s gains after a spokesperson said the Trump administration was planning to rescind and modify a rule that curbed the export of sophisticated artificial-intelligence chips.
Among others, US-listed stocks, shares of Arm plunged after the chipmaker forecast first-quarter revenue and profit below Wall Street estimates.
Fashion brand Tapestry rose after the luxury group raised its annual forecasts, while Fortinet slumped after the cybersecurity firm’s second-quarter revenue forecast came in below estimates.
Warner Bros Discovery gained after a report said the company was headed for a split, despite the streaming firm missed its quarterly revenue estimates.
Krispy Kreme’s shares sank significantly after the restaurant chain became the latest to withdraw its full-year forecast. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
