European shares rose on Friday as investors assessed interest rate cut prospects following the European Central Bank’s latest policy decision.
Dublin
The Euronext Dublin rose slightly, buoyed by travel and food stocks to end the week 0.37 per cent higher at 9,066.84.
Banking shares were mixed on the day, with Bank of Ireland gaining 1.5 per cent before the closing bell, and Permanent TSB adding 0.3 per cent, while AIB saw its shares dip 0.25 per cent.
In travel stocks, Ryanair ended the day at €18.80, a gain of 0.35 per cent, while ferries group Irish Continental was 0.65 per cent higher. Dalata Hotel Group saw its shares gain almost 1.7 per cent, ending the week at €4.83.
‘To blame the lowest paid for challenges in our economy is cheap’
Shares in Glanbia rose 1.67 per cent to €15.80, while Kerry Group was 1.07 per cent higher.
London
Britain’s FTSE 100 clocked its biggest percentage gain since last October, as upbeat earnings from European luxury firms boosted shares of Burberry and Diageo, while investors took comfort from data that showed UK consumer sentiment hit a two-year high.
The FTSE 100 climbed 1.4 per cent on Friday to log its first weekly gain of the year and the biggest in more than four months. The midcap FTSE 250 index also rose 0.6 per cent, marking its biggest weekly gain in six weeks.
British luxury retailer Burberry climbed 4.9 per cent, after French luxury giant LVMH reported a 10 per cent rise in fourth-quarter sales, reassuring investors about the sector’s resilience to economic headwinds, particularly in China.
Vodafone shares advanced 3.9 per cent after the British government approved the telecom operator’s strategic relationship agreement with Abu Dhabi-based telecoms group e&.
Shares in Superdry lost 2.6 per cent after the fashion retailer said it did not expect market conditions to improve in the near term following a tough Christmas season, also adding that finance chief Shaun Wills would step down at the end of March.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index ended 1.1 per cent higher, hitting its highest level in two years and clocking a weekly advance of 3.1 per cent.
LVMH jumped 12.8 per cent after the world’s largest luxury group posted a 10 per cent rise in fourth-quarter sales, driven by resilient demand, including from Chinese buyers.
Remy Cointreau advanced 15.2 per cent after the French spirits maker posted a slightly smaller-than-expected decline in third-quarter sales. Rivals Pernod Ricard and Diageo also added 7.9 per cent and 5.1 per cent, respectively.
France’s CAC 40 index, which houses both stocks, rallied 2.3 per cent and outperformed other regional bourses.
New York
The benchmark S&P 500 scaled another record high on Friday after an in-line inflation print signalling continued moderation in price pressures provided some relief.
Dragging down the Nasdaq, Intel slumped 11.1 per cent to a six-week low after forecasting that its first-quarter revenue could miss estimates by over $2 billion.
With other chip stocks Broadcom, Qualcomm and Micron Technology losing over 1 per cent each, the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index shed 2.3 per cent.
The S&P 500 technology sector led sectoral losses with a 0.6 per cent decline.
Chipmaking tools maker KLA Corp also shed 5.9 per cent following its third-quarter revenue forecast below estimates.
At 11.41am in the US, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 95.80 points, or 0.25 per cent, at 38,144.93, the S&P 500 was up 2.93 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 4,897.09, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 12.62 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 15,497.87.
Among others, American Express jumped 7.6 per cent, hitting a record high, as the credit card firm forecast a higher-than-expected annual profit, while peer Visa declined 1.6 per cent after the world’s largest payments processor’s tepid current-quarter revenue growth forecast.
Colgate-Palmolive rose 2.3 per cent after the toothpaste maker posted upbeat fourth-quarter results. — Additional reporting: Reuters
