Global stocks dipped slightly on Thursday as investors grew cautious of the prospects of a US-Iran peace deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow much of the world’s oil supply to flow through the Gulf.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share Index increased 0.18 per cent to close at 14,041.35 on Thursday, with slender growth from the banking sector and a jump in Glanbia’s share price.
Bank stocks continued to recover from losses accrued earlier this week. AIB shares grew 1.8 per cent to close at €10.98, while Bank of Ireland was up 0.4 per cent to €18.93.
Origin was also among the trading day’s top winners, with shares in the agribusiness group growing by 1.15 per cent to €4.40. Builder Cairns Homes climbed 0.8 per cent to close at €2.51 a share.
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Shares in Ryanair dipped by 0.04 per cent to close at €25.26.
Glanbia was by far the day’s biggest winner when the markets closed, seeing its share price jump 5.61 per cent to €23.72.
The nutrition group reported a 7 per cent increase in revenue for the first half of 2026 on Thursday thanks to a 25 per cent surge in demand for one of its protein powder products.
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The growth was also attributed to the increase in demand for weight-loss drugs, as their users are advised to up their protein intake so as not to lose muscle mass.
Building material specialist Kingspan saw its shares drop by 2.63 per cent to close the day at €81.55.
LONDON
London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 dropped 0.19 per cent to close at 10,867.89 on Thursday, while the mid-cap, domestic-focused FTSE 250 climbed 0.25 per cent to 24,695.42 by close.
Alcoholic drinks company Diageo, with Guinness and Smirnoff under its portfolio, jumped 5.58 per cent by close after announcing plans earlier in the day to cut costs by $1 billion (€866 million) over the next three years.
This is expected to result in large-scale lay-offs across the company’s global workforce of 30,000. Other winners on the blue chip index included Vodafone (4.28 per cent) and investor relations adviser Admiral (5.24 per cent).
Among the biggest losses were Tritax Big Box, a real estate investment trust, whose share price dropped 4.19 per cent by markets close, as well as data service provider RELX with a loss of 4.13 per cent. Lloyds Bank fell by 2.05 per cent.
On the more domestic index, public service provider Serco rose by 7.17 per cent, as did Harbour Energy by 4.91 per cent. Media company ITV increased 1.74 per cent.
EUROPE
European shares continued their momentum of record highs for the third day in a row as prospects of a US-Iran peace deal neared. The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.16 per cent higher than Wednesday, with record highs seen in Spain, France and Italy.
Shares at Deutsche Telekom rose by 6.3 per cent after the telecoms company increased its 2026 share buyback programme by €3 billion, to €5 billion in total. German tech conglomerate Siemens closed 4.5 per cent lower despite reporting its highest ever quarterly industrial profit.
London-based Hikma Pharmaceuticals rose 8.2 per cent after posting a 9 per cent increase in half-year operating profit.
NEW YORK
The S&P 500 fell for a second day in a row, this time by 0.24 per cent, as a rally in oil prices continued to send stocks down and a less-than-favourable jobs report from the US treasury increased inflation worries.
In early trading, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.85 per cent, with Boeing down 3.38 per cent.
Walt Disney saw an increase of 1.6 per cent, while Microsoft jumped by 1.71 per cent. The multinational tech company was among the most active stocks on the S&P, hovering around a loss of 0.25 per cent in early trading. – Additional reporting: Reuters/Bloomberg.
