Global stocks rose on Tuesday after China unveiled a large stimulus package to pull its economy out of a rut.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the day up 0.5 per cent, which was largely in line with international peers.
Agri-services group Origin Enterprises complained of “particularly challenging” trading conditions during the year as it said its revenue for the 12 months fell by 16.7 per cent to €2 billion, while its operating profit of €83.5 million was down 8 per cent.
However, investors shrugged off the figures and the company was up 2 per cent at close of business on what a trader described as “reasonable” volumes.
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Among some of the bigger names on the index, food giant Kerry Group was up 0.5 per cent, while Glanbia also rose marginally. Meanwhile, budget airline Ryanair had climbed 0.5 per cent by close of business.
Elsewhere, it was a muted day for the Irish banks as AIB and Bank of Ireland both climbed about 0.3 per cent.
London
The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent as markets cheered the fresh stimulus measures in China that lifted shares of miners and luxury-focused retailers, while midcaps fell led by losses in utilities.
Industrial metal miners jumped nearly 5 per cent to a nearly one-month high, as metal prices rose on expectations of higher demand from the top consumer China.
Shares of miners Anglo American, Antofagasta and Glencore rose between 4 per cent and 7 per cent.
Burberry gained over 2 per cent, rising along with other European luxury companies, buoyed by hopes of demand revival in the Chinese market.
Smiths Group fell 5.2 per cent after the engineering group announced acquisitions of two North American companies, while posting a slight miss in its annual profit.
Dunelm also dipped 6.3 per cent, as top shareholder Will Adderley and his private investment firm sold a nearly 5 per cent stake in the homeware retailer, according to Barclays.
Europe
Stocks on the continent climbed back toward record highs, also buoyed by the stimulus package in the Far East.
Frankfurt’s Dax index rose 0.75 per cent, while the Cac 40 in Paris closed up 1.3 per cent. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe rose 0.14 per cent and hit a record high. Elsewhere, the Stoxx 600 index gained 0.6 per cent.
The euro edged 0.1 per cent higher to $1.1123. The single currency dropped about 0.5 per cent on Monday as soft business activity reports for the euro zone economy raised expectations for more rate cuts by the European Central Bank.
New York
The benchmark S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped as investors digested a weak consumer confidence report and mulled on the Federal Reserve’s next policy move.
Rate-sensitive growth stocks such as Amazon, Meta and Microsoft lost over 1 per cent each following the data as yield on short-term Treasury bonds were steady.
Still, the benchmark S&P 500 and the blue-chip Dow were hovering near record highs as data earlier in the week pointed to a robust economy overall, and as a number of policymakers supported further policy easing by the Fed.
Metal prices got a boost after the world’s second-largest economy, China, unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk.
Copper and lithium miners such as Freeport-McMoRan added 5.9 per cent, Southern Copper rose 7.1 per cent and Albemarle advanced 4.2 per cent and Arcadium climbed 5.8 per cent.
Among stocks, US-listed shares of Chinese firms such as Alibaba rose 5.3 per cent, PDD Holdings added 6.4 per cent and Li Auto advanced 7.8 per cent, tracking gains in the domestic market.
Visa lost 4 per cent after a report showed the US Department of Justice plans to file a lawsuit against the payments network operator, alleging that it illegally monopolised the country’s debit card market. – Additional reporting: Agencies
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