Big stock indexes edged higher on Wednesday, with upcoming results from artificial intelligence leader Nvidia offsetting concerns about the US Federal Reserve’s independence.
A lawyer for Fed Governor Lisa Cook said she would file a lawsuit against US president Donald Trump after he said he would fire her. Mr Trump’s statement left some investors worried about the independence of the US central bank.
Interest-rate sensitive two-year US yields fell to an almost four-month low and the yield curve steepened as traders weighed the chance that Mr Trump may be able to make more dovish appointments to the Fed.
Dublin
Ryanair shares dropped by over 5 per cent to €25.05 after the company said it expects delivery of 25 new Boeing aircraft by October instead of the spring of next year and after the budget airline announced it would allow online travel giant Booking.com and related sites sell its flights.
RM Block
Shares in hotel group Dalata were unchanged after it said revenues inched 1 per cent higher in the first half of the year as the benefit of four UK openings in the middle of last year offset a dip in revenues per available room.
Shares in AIB and Bank of Ireland were down 1.3 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.
Europe
European stocks rebounded slightly from the previous day’s decline, with investors monitoring political risks in France. Concerns over a potential collapse of French prime minister Francois Bayrou’s government next month sparked a sell-off in French assets on Tuesday.
MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.49 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 953.21.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was up 0.09 per cent.
Swatch Group shares jumped after chief executive Nick Hayek soothed investor nerves over the impact of US tariffs on the watchmaker’s US business.
Speaking on a call with investors and analysts, Mr Hayek said the US watch market remains strong, according to a note from Citigroup analyst Thomas Chauvet. The stock rose as much as 6.8 per cent in Swiss trading.
London
London stocks ended marginally lower on Wednesday, bogged down by heavyweight financial stocks as investors monitored the concerns around the US Federal Reserve’s independence.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 finished the day 0.1 per cent lower, extending Tuesday’s losses when global risk assets took a hit after Mr Trump said he was firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Banks were among the top decliners on the FTSE 100 on Wednesday, with NatWest lagging, down 2.5 per cent.
The UK’s blue-chip index touched a record high last week, when global markets got a lift after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signalled a possible interest rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting.
Equities in London, however, have run into turbulence this week with the blue-chip index down for two straight sessions and a bank holiday on Monday.
Hochschild Mining slumped 9.3 per cent to the bottom of the midcap index after the miner slashed its full-year production forecast for its Mara Rosa mine by more than half.
Among other moving stocks, JD Sports Fashion gained 3.6 per cent after the sportswear retailer showed signs of stabilisation in its key US market after a sharp decline in the previous quarter.
Insurer Prudential unveiled a $1.1 billion (€950 million) share buyback plan and signalled higher dividends over the next two years after posting a 12 per cent rise in first-half new business profit. Its shares, however, ended 1.7 per cent down, shedding initial gains.
New York
The main US stock indexes were mixed on Wednesday as investors took a breather ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, which are expected to test the momentum of Wall Street’s AI-driven rally.
The chip major was at the forefront of the market recovery after April’s lows, crossing the $4-trillion market capitalisation mark in July to become the world’s largest company as investors continued to bet on the global demand for artificial-intelligence infrastructure.
Traders worry the technology sector – which makes up nearly 50 per cent of the S&P 500 – might be overvalued. Valuations of the benchmark index are well above long-term averages, according to data compiled by LSEG.
The concerns weighed on tech stocks last week, after OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman spoke of a potential bubble and a study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology showed AI tools boosted individual productivity, not corporate earnings.
Microsoft and Meta, the chip leader’s top customers, as well as semiconductor stocks Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices, fell marginally.
Markets were also stabilising following an initial decline on Tuesday, after Mr Trump attempted to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook. – Additional reporting by Reuters and Bloomberg
