European shares slipped on Friday and ended the week lower, as uncertainty about Middle East peace efforts kept investors on edge and technology stocks paused after a blistering two-month rally.
Brent crude fell for a second straight session, though prices remained near $93 a barrel. Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough between the US and Iran appeared limited after the two countries exchanged strikes earlier in the week, while a US-brokered Israel-Lebanon ceasefire also looked fragile after Hizbullah rejected the pact.
DUBLIN
The Iseq Overall Index ended Friday down 0.2 per cent at 13,113.23, mirroring movements in other global markets.
That capped the week’s losses at just short of 0.5 per cent.
RM Block
Financial stocks were mixed, with AIB and Bank of Ireland losing 0.8 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively, while insurer FBD was up 2.7 per cent.
Among the construction sector, Kingspan was up 0.9 per cent, ending the week up more than 3.5 per cent. Home builders Glenveagh Properties and Cairn Homes fell 0.6 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
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Ryanair ended the session flat, capping a week that saw its stock lose more than 5 per cent.
LONDON
The UK’s FTSE 100 closed up on Friday, bucking a risk-off mood in other global markets.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed up 0.07 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 1 per cent. Both indexes ended the week lower, with the mid-cap index snapping a two-week winning streak.
Pharma stocks jumped 2.1 per cent while personal care stocks gained 2 per cent. Precious metal miners, on the other hand, fell 6 per cent.
Evoke rose 15 per cent after the British bookmaker, which counts William Hill among its brands, agreed to be acquired by Greek lottery and gaming firm Bally’s Intralot on Friday in an all-share deal valuing it at about £243 million.
Raspberry Pi was up 27 per cent to the top of the mid-cap index after the single-board computing firm upgraded its full-year profit outlook, sending shares to an all-time high.
EUROPE
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.3 per cent at 622.66 points and lost 0.5 per cent for the week.
Technology stocks were among the top sectoral decliners across the Continent with a 2.9 per cent drop. European chip stocks such as Infineon and Aixtron lost 9.1 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, while AI equipment makers Legrand and Schneider Electric slipped 2.3 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively.
The financial services sector was heading for a 0.8 per cent weekly loss after rising redemption requests from asset managers reignited concerns about strains in private markets.
Among other stocks, thermal processing services company Bodycote slid 13 per cent after saying Apollo Global Management does not intend to make the firm a buyout offer.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Friday as stronger-than-expected jobs data pushed Treasury yields higher and reinforced hawkish policy bets.
Nvidia lost 2.5 per cent, while the Philadelphia chip index shed 5 per cent following a blistering 92 per cent surge so far this year.
Tech shares declined for a third straight session, falling 2.7 per cent.
At 4:52pm in Dublin, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had dropped 0.55 per cent, to 51,280.78, the S&P 500 lost 1.4 per cent, to 7,478.20 and the Nasdaq Composite declined by 2.37 per cent, to 26,194.32.
Among market movers, Lululemon Athletica slumped 8 per cent after the athletic apparel maker cut its annual profit forecast and projected second-quarter earnings well below Wall Street estimates.
Cooper Companies rose 8.5 per cent after the maker of contact lenses beat estimates for second-quarter results. – Additional reporting: Reuters
