European shares declined on Wednesday as upbeat economic data spurred fears that interest rates could stay higher for longer, while investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s latest meeting.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.3 per cent lower with focus on Fed minutes that could provide more cues on the monetary policy tightening path of the world’s most influential central bank.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All Share index lost 0.9 per cent to 8,162.39, with banking stocks among the weakest performers, in line with losses by the wider European banking sector, which had hit a one-year high in the previous session.
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AIB lost 3.7 per cent to €3.84, while Bank of Ireland moved 2.4 per cent lower to €9.84. However, Permanent TSB managed to edge 1.2 per cent higher to €2.51.
Corre Energy fell 2.6 per cent to €3.80 as the energy storage facilities developer went about placing as much as €7 million in a share sale to advance key projects in the Netherlands and Denmark and pursue other “promising” European and North American projects.
LONDON
The FTSE 100 moved 0.6 per cent amid downward pressure from mining firms in the face of weaker commodity prices.
Investors and traders also appeared cautious over the rates outlook ahead of the latest Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
In company news, banking giant Lloyds edged 0.3 per cent higher after it said profits nearly doubled in the final three months of 2022 as its loan book swelled and interest rates increased.
Mining firm Rio Tinto was among the FTSE’s heaviest fallers, sliding 3.6 per cent, after it cut its shareholders’ dividend by more than half due to lower commodity prices.
The group said it would pay a 53 per cent lower dividend for 2022 after a pullback in raw material prices caused pretax profit to dip by 40 per cent.
Cineworld shares slipped 10.3 per cent after reports that the troubled cinema chain had failed to secure any firm takeover offers to buy the entire business.
Sanderson Design Group finished up 15.2 pe cent after the furnishing designs business signed a “major” licensing deal for its Clarke & Clarke brand with retailer Next.
EUROPE
Shares of BE Semiconductor jumped 10.2 per cent after the Dutch chipmaking equipment supplier said the recent tensions between the United States and China have not affected its sales and orders.
Stellantis added 2.2 per cent after the carmaker said its operating profit grew 17 per cent in the second half of last year on a strong product and pricing mix.
Fresenius SE slid 4.4 per cent after the German healthcare group forecast a fall in 2023 profit, partly due to plans to cede strategic control over dialysis group Fresenius Medical Care.
French food group Danone rose 4.5 per cent on saying it expects better margins this year even as soaring raw materials and energy costs pulled down its full-year 2022 operating margin.
Exchange operator Euronext fell 7.4 per cent on stating it has submitted an indicative offer in a combination of shares and cash to buy fund distribution firm Allfunds for €5.5 billion.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indexes were ahead in early afternoon trading, a day after their worst performance of the year, as investors awaited minutes from the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting for fresh clues on the trajectory of interest rates.
US stocks shed more than 2 per cent on Tuesday after a rebound in business activity in February stoked fears of interest rates staying higher for longer.
Growth names like Tesla, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Amazon.com edged higher as the yield on 10-year US Treasury notes slid from multimonth highs.
Palo Alto Networks rose after the cybersecurity company raised its annual profit forecast.
CoStar Group dropped as the online real estate marketplace provider said it was no longer in talks to buy Realtor.com-owner Move Inc from News Corp and forecast disappointing first-quarter revenue.
— Additional reporting, Reuters, Press Association
