Global shares stabilised somewhat on Wednesday as investors awaited Nvidia’s earnings report after the markets closed in the US, an update that analysts say could set the tone for the rest of 2025.
Dublin
Recovering some of Tuesday’s 2.3 per cent slide, the Iseq index closed up 1.5 per cent, outperforming other European indices.
Bank stocks rallied and regained some momentum. AIB advanced by 1.7 per cent to close at €8.27 per share.
RM Block
Bank of Ireland finished the session at €14.97 per share, some 0.5 per cent higher, while PTSB added 0.3 per cent to close at €3.20.
Home builders Cairn Homes and Glenveagh added 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent to finish off at €1.92 and €1.82 respectively as the latest property price index showed Irish house price inflation continuing to hover around the 8 per cent mark in September.
Europe
European shares were largely unchanged after hovering near a more than one-month low for a time on Wednesday.
Both the blue-chip Stoxx 50 index and the pan-European Stoxx 600 advanced by just 0.1 per cent, with the latter coming off its single biggest daily drop in more than three months on Tuesday.
European tech stocks declined and then rebounded somewhat in advance of Nvidia’s all-important earnings report that could stoke or soothe investor worries about sky-high tech valuations.
AI hardware maker Schneider Electric finished 0.3 per cent higher, while Siemens added 0.2 per cent and chipmaker ASML surged 2.4 per cent in choppy trading.
Meanwhile, Kering lost 3.2 per cent after the luxury company’s boss Luca de Meo said a return to growth will require reducing its reliance on struggling flagship Gucci, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
London
The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index slid for a fifth consecutive session, losing 0.4 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 was little changed at closing bell.
UK inflation slowed down for the first time since May in October, offering relief to the Labour Party government before next week’s annual budget and boosting the chance of a rate cut by the Bank of England.
Consumer-focused stocks like Unilever, up 0.4 per cent, put a floor under the declines. British American Tobacco, meanwhile, jumped by more than 1 per cent while JD Sports added 4.4 per cent and Primark owner Associated British Foods moved 0.8 per cent higher.
Bank stocks dragged on the index, however, with Barclays, NatWest and Lloyds logging losses of between 0.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent.
New York
Wall Street stabilised on Wednesday in advance of the Nvidia report, clawing back some ground lost during the earlier sell-off this week as investors repositioned their AI and tech bets.
The Nasdaq Composite moved 0.6 per cent higher, the S&P 500 advanced by 0.3 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was little changed.
Chipmaker Nvidia climbed 2 per cent, leaving shares of the most important stock on Wall Street down almost 9 per cent this month.
The AI darling has come to represent the nascent artificial intelligence technology that has powered much of the stock market’s rally in recent months.
Its quarterly results and forward guidance will be scrutinised to determine how much life remains in the AI boom and whether worries over inflated valuations and a potential AI bubble are warranted.
A basket tracking the Magnificent Seven stocks, including Apple and Meta, advanced 0.9 per cent. Alphabet surged as much as 7 per cent, its biggest gain since September, amid a wave of glowing reviews of the new version of its Gemini AI model.
Target slipped 0.1 per cent after the retail giant trimmed its profit forecast for the year.
Home improvement company Lowe’s jumped nearly 5 per cent after reporting profit that topped expectations on a pickup in online sales and growth in demand from professional contractors. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
