European shares were little changed on Friday, capping an eventful week on a benign note with sentiment that was largely shaped by crucial central bank decisions, including the US Federal Reserve’s widely expected interest rate cut.
Dublin
In Dublin, the market ended the week slightly lower, losing 0.3 per cent.
Banking shares gained, mirroring wider moves in the European market. AIB ended the day up 1.4 per cent, while Bank of Ireland added 0.9 per cent.
That was offset by declines in Kerry and Glanbia, while insulation specialist Kingspan lost 2 per cent and Ryanair was nearly 1 per cent off the pace. Ferries group Irish Continental also edged lower, losing 1.4 per cent over the session.
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Home builders Glenveagh and Cairn also made gains over the day,
London
The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed down 0.12 per cent, registering a marginal weekly decline on looming worries around inflation. The mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.63 per cent and also recorded a weekly loss.
Media stocks fell the most among sectors, down 2.2 per cent, with WPP declining 5.2 per cent.
However, gains in precious metal miners helped stem losses in the FTSE 100, up 5 per cent, as gold prices moved higher.
Fresnillo, Hochschild and Endeavour Mining gained between 5.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent.
Spire Healthcare jumped 14.1 per cent after the private hospital group said it was exploring strategic options, including a potential sale of the company.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.04 per cent lower at 554.81 points, while it was largely flat for the week.
The European banks index led gains for the day, up 1.26 per cent as it rebounded from a slump seen earlier this week.
Defence stocks rose 0.8 per cent, hovering near record highs. But the overall gains were offset by the media index, down 2.4 per cent to an over two-week low.
Energy stocks were also a drag, down 0.8 per cent. European technology stocks rallied, becoming the week’s top-performing sector with a gain of 4.9 per cent.
Further push came from advances in regional semiconductor stocks, rallying in line with global counterparts after a $5 billion deal between Intel and Nvidia.
Tyre maker Continental jumped 29.3 per cent a day after spinning off Aumovio. The auto parts and components supplier gained 1.2 per cent.
Hedge fund Man Group jumped 5.3 per cent after UBS upgraded the stock to “Buy” from “Neutral”.
European logistics companies Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd dropped 5.9 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, as analysts flagged a sharp drop in container freight indices and warned US port volumes could soften.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes were muted in choppy trading on Friday, with the Nasdaq easing from a record high, while FedEx rose as the parcel delivery firm posted upbeat quarterly results.
FedEx gained 2.7 per cent after reporting quarterly profit and revenue above analyst estimates on Thursday, as cost-cutting and strength in domestic deliveries helped offset weaker international volumes.
Apple added 2 per cent following a price target raise from JP Morgan, while Tesla was up 1.8 per cent after a report of Baird’s upgrade on the stock to “outperform” from “neutral”.
Their gains boosted the S&P 500 technology and consumer discretionary sectors, up 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively. These were the only sectors trading higher.
Industrials and energy indexes led broader declines.
At 11:37am in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 6.86 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 46,149.28, the S&P 500 gained 2.79 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 6,634.75 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 39.15 points, or 0.18 per cent, to 22,510.20.
In other stocks, Lennar fell 3 per cent after the home builder reported a lower third-quarter profit and forecast fourth-quarter home deliveries below estimates. – Additional reporting: Reuters
