Rate-sensitive property and technology stocks pushed European equities higher on Thursday amid speculation that monetary policy tightening is coming to an end after the Federal Reserve in the US and the Bank of England held interest rates steady.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 1.6 per cent higher, touching a fresh two-week high.
Stock markets were boosted after policymakers at the Bank of England decided to keep the base interest rate steady at 5.25 per cent, following the US Federal Reserve also keeping rate unchanged on Wednesday.
While the Bank of England said it was “much too early” to think about cutting rates, hopes that borrowing costs have reached a peak nevertheless renewed optimism in equity markets.
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DUBLIN
The Iseq All Share index advanced 1.2 per cent to 8,059.10.
Ires Reit, the largest private residential landlord in the Republic, saw its shares soar 4.5 per cent to 95 cent as sector followers observed noises from central banks. The company’s property values had been hit over the past 12 months amid rising interest rates.
Shares in banks, which generally see their income increase amid rising rates, were out of sorts. AIB lost 1.7 per cent to €4.06, while Bank of Ireland dipped 0.7 per cent to €8.40.
Glanbia jumped 3 per cent to €15.61. Goodbody Stockbrokers analysts were pushing the stock as a buy on Thursday, a day after the nutrition group issued a solid trading update. Goodbody noted that Glanbia continues to trade at about a 50 per cent discount to its closest peers internationally.
Ryanair was also in demand, rising 2 per cent to €14.94, as it said its passenger numbers rose 9 per cent in October.
LONDON
The exporter-focused FTSE 100 climbed 1.4 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 leapt 3.4 per cent.
Home builder shares rose 2.9 per cent, while real estate stocks soared 6 per cent
Shares of the UK’s biggest broadband and mobile provider BT Group jumped 5.7 per cent after the group’s second-quarter earnings came in slightly ahead of forecasts.
Sainsbury closed 3.8 per cent higher after the supermarket group said full-year profit would come in at the upper half of its forecast.
Shell gained 4.2 per cent following in-line third-quarter earnings of $6.2 billion (€5.8 billion) and news of an increased share buyback programme.
EUROPE
Real-estate stocks rose 5.2 per cent to lead sectoral gains, while technology climbed 2.7 per cent.
Data showed euro zone manufacturing activity slowed again last month in a broad-based downturn, with new orders contracting at one of the steepest rates since 1997. And German unemployment rose more than expected in October, showing some cracks in an otherwise resilient labour market.
Finnish residential real estate group Kojamo rallied 16.7 per cent after posting better-than-expected quarterly results.
Swiss staffing company Adecco Group jumped 13.9 per cent on a better-than-expected third-quarter net profit.
Ferrari gained 5.6 per cent after raising its 2023 earnings outlook.
Novo Nordisk rose 3.2 per cent as it estimated another year of double-digit sales growth for its two most popular drugs, even after cautioning that supply of its Wegovy weight-loss injection would remain limited in the short to medium term.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main stock indexes were ahead in early afternoon trading on hopes that the US Federal Reserve had reached the end of its tightening campaign, while a raft of upbeat corporate updates added to the bullish mood.
Mega-cap growth stocks Nvidia, Alphabet and Tesla rose.
On the earnings front, Qualcomm climbed after the chip designer forecast first-quarter sales and profit above Wall Street estimates.
PayPal advanced as the payments giant raised its full-year adjusted profit forecast.
Starbucks jumped after fourth-quarter results beat estimates, while drugmaker Eli Lilly gained after beating quarterly sales estimates. – Additional reporting: Reuters
