European shares saw a third straight decline as the ECB held interest rates still, while investors parsed a new raft of corporate earnings with industrial stocks a major drag.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index went against the trend in Europe to gain 0.26 per cent to close at 11,867.82.
PTSB soared 23.4 per cent after the State-controlled bank put itself up for sale. Its shares reached €2.90 at market close to give it a market cap in excess of €1.5 billion.
RM Block
A number of the big caps fell. AIB shed 0.82 per cent, Kingspan dropped 2.92 per cent, and Irish Ferries owner Irish Continental Group fell 1.03 per cent.
But gains from Ryanair, up 1.72 per cent, and house builder Glenveagh, up 1.58 per cent, alongside PTSB were enough to keep the index in the green.
LONDON
London-listed stocks were subdued on Thursday as investors paused after a recent rally
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was flat, snapping eight consecutive sessions of gains, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 fell 0.77 per cent – its biggest daily loss in two weeks.
The FTSE 100 rose to record highs earlier this week, boosted by upbeat results from majors HSBC and GSK.
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Earnings in the UK are picking up steam. WPP sank 16 per cent to a near two-decade low after new chief executive Cindy Rose warned on profit after a downturn at its flagship media buying agency caused a bigger-than-expected drop in third-quarter net revenue. The stock was the worst performer in the FTSE 100.
Automobile stocks also took a hit, falling 2 per cent after Germany’s Volkswagen booked a €4.7 billion charge.
In a bright spot, Standard Chartered gained 3.6 per cent after the bank said it would hit a key profitability target a year earlier than expected while posting better-than-expected third-quarter earnings.
Among others, Shell inched up 0.3 per cent after reporting third-quarter results that beat expectations. Shares of lender Shawbrook jumped 6.7 per cent following London’s biggest initial public offering in two years.
EUROPE
The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.1 per cent and most regional bourses also ended the day in the red.
The ECB’s meeting was uneventful as it held rates steady on Thursday and gave nothing away on future actions.
Industrial stocks were the biggest drag on the STOXX 600. Schneider Electric fell 3.3 per cent despite beating its organic growth forecast, while defence firm Kongsberg Gruppen bottomed the benchmark index with an 18.3 per cent decline on plans to spin off its maritime business.
Automobile stocks fell the most, with Stellantis sliding 8.9 per cent after flagging one-off charges related to changes in regulation, strategy and products.
Technology stocks were the top gainers, up 0.9 per cent.
Society Generale fell 3.6 per cent after its chief executive declined to commit to handing over more excess capital to shareholders.
ING gained 5.8 per cent after the lender announced plans to allocate €1.6 billion on share buybacks and dividends. Standard Chartered rose 3.6 per cent after saying it would hit a key profitability target a year earlier than expected.
Airbus climbed 2.1 per cent after its third-quarter earnings topped expectations.
Novo Nordisk fell 3.6 per cent after entering the bidding war with Pfizer for US biotech Metsera, while Puma declined 8.3 per cent after a more than 15 per cent fall in third-quarter sales.
NEW YORK
The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped on Thursday, as Meta and Microsoft fell on worries over surging AI spending, rattling investors already anxious about the US Federal Reserve’s pace of monetary policy easing.
Meta looked set for its biggest percentage drop in three years after the Instagram-parent forecast “notably larger” capital expenses next year, thanks to investments in AI.
Microsoft dipped after the tech giant reported a record capital expenditure of nearly $35 billion for its fiscal first quarter and warned that spending would rise this year. Google parent Alphabet jumped as steady growth in the advertising business and cloud computing powered better-than-expected results. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA
