European shares advanced, shrugging off a decline in tech stocks as broader confidence in global growth sparked a rotation into sectors linked to the economic cycle, such as construction materials and banks.
The Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates again on Wednesday also helped calm market jitters around the health of the US economy.
Dublin
Outperforming its European peers, the Iseq index advanced by 1.4 per cent, led higher financial and airline stocks.
AIB and Bank of Ireland advanced again, adding 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent to close at €8.90 and 0.5 per cent per share, respectively.
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Ryanair, off the pace earlier in the week, jumped by more than 3 per cent, part of a wider sectoral move across Europe.
In what was a theme across European indices, home builders also advanced on Thursday. Cairn Homes jumped by almost 1 per cent to €2.01 per share while Glenveagh Properties added 0.5 per cent to close at almost €1.90.
Cavan insulation giant Kingspan, meanwhile, surged again, adding 1.9 per cent to €75.30.
Europe
European shares advanced, despite a decline in tech stocks after Oracle released disappointing results in the US. The blue-chip Stoxx 50 was up 0.8 per cent while the pan-European Stoxx 600 added 0.5 per cent.
The big names in European banking gained, led by Spain’s BBVA, which jumped by 2.3 per cent. Its domestic competitor Santander also moved higher, while Italy’s Intesa Sanpaolo, the Netherlands’ ING Groep, and France’s BNP Paribas all added between 1.6 per cent and 2.1 per cent.
Utilities stocks slid, dragged lower by a more than 6 per cent drop in Spain’s Naturgy Energy after BlackRock sold a 7.1 per cent stake in the Spanish gas utility for around 1.7 billion euros.
After Oracle’s disappointing results reignited concerns about an artificial intelligence investment bubble, European tech shares also dipped. Germany’s SAP and Infineon fell by 0.8 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively, and Dutch chipmaker ASML dipped 0.5 per cent.
London
UK shares were subdued, with both the blue-chip FTSE 100 and mid-cap FTSE 250 indices eking out modest gains.
Healthcare stocks on the FTSE 100 added momentum, with AstraZeneca up 0.5 per cent and ConvaTec adding 1.7 per cent.
Miners also gained, tracking a rise in copper prices.
In line with trends across Europe, stocks linked to the economic cycle performed well, with the big UK banks all advancing. Barclays gained 1.1 per cent, while Lloyds and NatWest Group also inched higher.
Retail stocks were weaker, with Next losing 0.8 per cent, while Frasers dipped by a further 1 per cent after Mike Ashley pledged around £670 million (€765 million) worth of shares in the group as collateral for an HSBC loan.
New York
Two of Wall Street’s three main indices were on track to fall on Thursday as some of the world’s biggest tech stocks dipped after Oracle plunged 14 per cent.
Fresh concerns about Oracle’s sizeable outlay on artificial intelligence largely overshadowed the Fed’s decision to cut rates again, after the tech giant published quarterly forecasts that fell short of analyst expectations.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell by around 1 per cent, putting it on pace for its biggest decline in more than a month. The S&P 500, meanwhile, fell by 0.5 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.6 per cent.
Caution toward AI heavyweights persisted, with Nvidia down by around 3.5 per cent amid Magnificent Seven losses.
Among others, Walt Disney gained 2 per cent after the streaming firm said it would make a $1 billion (€850 million) equity investment in OpenAI.
AI bubble concerns also hurt crypto stocks such as Strategy, which lost 3.3 per cent, and Bit Digital, which fell 3.1 per cent as bitcoin briefly slipped below $90,000. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters
