An index of global equity markets reached a new record for the second straight day on Wednesday, propelled partly by bullish sentiment on Wall Street as investors positioned for a likely interest rate cut from the US Federal Reserve.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin was largely in line with international peers as it finished the day up 0.9 per cent.
Nutritionals group Glanbia was the big story of the day on the Irish market as it climbed almost 16 per cent after raising its earnings forecast for the year while appointing a new chairman and announcing the sale of an underperforming unit.
Its share price move was described as “whopping” by one trader. “It had a pretty rough run into those numbers, which were then better than expected,” he added.
RM Block
Meanwhile, Cavan-based insulation specialist Kingspan climbed 1.6 per cent. The group last week reported record revenues of €4.5 billion in the first half of the year as sales rose by 8 per cent.
Elsewhere, most movers were largely in line with the broader index.
London
Britain’s FTSE 100 closed 0.2 per cent higher, reaching a one-week peak, marking its third consecutive day of gains. The domestically focused midcap FTSE 250 index ended little changed.
A gauge of Britain’s energy companies declined 0.6 per cent as oil prices fell more than 1 per cent in the day, though losses were limited after US treasury secretary Scott Bessent indicated sanctions against Russia, or secondary tariffs, could increase if talks on Ukraine disappoint.
Meanwhile, financials weakened with the non-life insurers’ index falling 3.5 per cent. Beazley tumbled 12.3 per cent in its worst one-day slide in nearly five years after it lowered its annual premium growth forecast, hurt partly by subdued demand for its cyber and property risk insurance.
Among other movers, infrastructure products maker Hill and Smith topped the gains on the midcap index, rising 10.2 per cent, after its half-yearly results and announcement of a share buyback programme.
Housebuilder Persimmon fell 0.4 per cent despite solid first-half results, which saw pretax profit edge up and revenue improve.
Europe
European shares hit a near two-week high, underpinned by gains in heavyweight healthcare and technology stocks.
European healthcare stocks were the strongest performing sector, with a 1.6 per cent rise. The subindex logged its fifth session of gains, the longest streak since late May. Genmab was up 3.8 per cent while Bayer rose 3.2 per cent.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.5 per cent higher, while Cac 40 in Paris rose 0.8 per cent, and the Dax 40 in Frankfurt advanced 0.7 per cent.
Shares of German tank gearbox maker Renk rose 2 per cent after it reported better-than-expected second-quarter revenue, benefiting from increased European defence spending.
Sweden’s Evolution fell 8.5 per cent after a Bloomberg report said its casino games had been distributed in banned markets.
New York
The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hovered near record highs as investors were increasingly confident that the Federal Reserve will restart its monetary policy easing cycle next month.
At 12.18pm eastern time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.82 per cent; the S&P 500 gained 0.15 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.07 per cent.
The blue-chip Dow was within 1 per cent of its all-time high and the Russell 2000 index, which tracks rate-sensitive small-cap companies, added 0.1.3 per cent to hit a six-month high.
Investors were also taking notice of other sectors following the recent tech-led rally in US stocks that have pushed valuations of the S&P 500 above long-term averages.
Healthcare stocks, which have been beaten down for much of the year, led gains among the 11 S&P 500 sectors with a 1.4 per cent rise, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index was marginally lower.
CoreWeave, which is backed by Nvidia, slumped 17.6 per cent after the AI data centre operator reported a bigger-than-expected quarterly net loss.
Paramount Skydance jumped 30 per cent. The company won exclusive broadcasting rights to the Ultimate Fighting Championship for seven years earlier this week. – Additional reporting: Agencies
