European shares closed lower on Tuesday – after handing back earlier gains – as concerns about artificial intelligence (AI) spending weighed on chipmakers and investors looked ahead to more US corporate earnings for clues on whether big technology firms can justify their heavy spending and high valuations.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended the session down 0.1 per cent.
Dublin
The Iseq All-Share index reversed the broader trend to rise 0.6 per cent to 14,212.69, as heavyweight banking stocks, Kingspan and Kerry Group advanced.
AIB gained 0.7 per cent to €10.95 and Bank of Ireland edged 0.8 per cent higher to €18.59, benefiting from a knock-on effect on fresh interest by investors in UK banks.
RM Block
Kingspan gained 1.2 per cent to €103, while Kerry Group added 2.1 per cent to €90.55, benefiting from strong results from Swiss peer Givaudan.
Ryanair lost 1.4 per cent to €22.71 as investors weighted the impact of ongoing elevated energy prices. Oil traders are currently assessing supply risks following attacks on Saudi Arabia and weighed the prospect of additional diesel supplies from Russia.
London
Of Irish interest, Greencore rose 1.9 per cent to £2.67 as the Dublin-based but London-listed sandwich and ready-meals maker again increased its profit guidance for its full financial year that ended in September.
The FTSE 100 index ended down 0.1 per cent, at 10,650.33. It had earlier traded as high as 10,762.01.
Aerospace technology company Melrose Industries rose 3.5 per cent as it said US authorities had begun the process of winding up their investigation into one of the company’s sites in California, after a major safety incident in May.
NatWest rose 2.1 per cent as Barclays Capital upgraded its rating to the equivalent of a buy.
Barclays analyst Aman Rakkar sees scope for earnings per share upside from higher interest rates, continued growth, and from the acquisition of Evelyn Partners.
Elsewhere, advertising giant WPP advanced 4.2 per cent after slightly better-than-expected results from French peer Publicis, which added 2.2 per cent.
But London Stock Exchange Group fell 4.7 per cent after confirming it is in talks to buy financial data firm Octus for $3.5 billion (€3.1 billion) from private-equity firm Permira.
Gambling group Entain rose 4.7 per cent as its joint venture BetMGM reiterated full-year guidance after a “strong” third quarter.
Europe
Technology stocks, tracking a global sell-off after reports of rapid tech progress by ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT) fuelled concerns that China is narrowing the technology gap with established rivals.
European chipmakers STMicroelectronics, Soitec and Infineon slid between 1.7 per cent and 5.9 per cent, while ASML dropped 2.7 per cent.
LVMH closed 0.1 per cent lower – but well off its earlier lows – as the world’s largest luxury group posted weaker-than-expected third-quarter sales, as deteriorating consumer sentiment in China weighed on demand for its Louis Vuitton and Dior brands.
Givaudan added 9.4 per cent after the fragrance and flavour maker’s third-quarter organic sales beat expectations.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes were lower in early afternoon trading as chip stocks came under selling pressure again while investors parsed a mixed bag of quarterly results, including those from big US banks.
Healthcare shares were the biggest drags, with Johnson & Johnson losing ground despite topping quarterly profit estimates.
Financials added to the gloom as Wells Fargo fell after its net interest income missed estimates and JPMorgan Chase swung between gains and losses following a rare profit miss.
Citigroup dipped but Goldman Sachs rose after both topped estimates.
Hopes of a strong earnings season had been propping up the broader market amid geopolitical tension, surging bond yields and inflation worries.
Information technology stocks slid. Chip stocks bore the brunt after reports of technological advances by China’s CXMT.
Memory chipmaker Micron Technology dipped while data-storage companies Western Digital, Seagate and SanDisk also dropped.
This has brought the September reading of consumer and producer prices and retail numbers, slated for this week, under greater scrutiny.
Domino’s Pizza fell after scaling back its full-year sales outlook. – Additional reporting: Reuters, PA
