Global shares were muted on Tuesday as Wall Street fell after fresh jobs data pointed to a continued cooling in the US labour market.
While the data come with caveats, the report will help inform investors’ expectations for the path of interest rates next year.
Dublin
Following up Monday’s 1 per cent gain, the Iseq index advanced by 0.1 per cent on Tuesday.
Ryanair was the only heavyweight name on the index to register a decline, falling 0.3 per cent to €29.52 per share. The airline was out of step with Europe-wide jump in airline stocks.
READ MORE
Banking shares were mixed after Monday’s recovery following a decline in EU lenders late last week. AIB and Bank of Ireland were essentially unchanged at €9.03 per share and €16.03 per share, respectively.
PTSB added almost 3.6 per cent to close at €2.90.
Irish Ferries owner Irish Continental group, meanwhile, advanced again, adding 1.6 per cent to close at €6.30 per share.
Healthcare services group Uniphar also jumped, moving to €3.55 per share, up 2.6 per cent.
Europe
With Wall Street futures down throughout trading, European shares edged lower as traders took a cautious position in advance of US jobs data.
The blue-chip Stoxx 50 index shed 0.6 per cent, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 dipped 0.4 per cent.
Why are apartments in Ireland so much more expensive to build than houses?
European defence stocks fell amid renewed hopes of a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine after US officials offered to provide Nato-style security guarantees to Kyiv.
Shares of German tank maker Rheinmetall, Sweden’s Saab and Italy’s Leonardo were among the biggest fallers on Europe’s benchmark Stoxx index, though the declines ranging from 4 per cent to 6 per cent were relatively contained as traders looked to buy the dip in a sector with a strong growth outlook.
Energy stocks were also down, tracking lower oil prices, while airlines gained. Lufthansa added 1.4 per cent, and Air France KLM moved 5 per cent higher.
London
UK shares were muted, with the benchmark FTSE 100 down by 0.7 per cent and the mid-cap FTSE 250 flat.
Tracking a fall in crude prices, oil majors Shell and BP – down by 2.7 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively – dragged on the blue-chip index.
Defence stocks slid in line with their European peers, with Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Babcock all down by between 1.4 per cent and 3.5 per cent.
Moving in the opposite direction, precious metal miners gained ground as metal prices jumped.
The dip in oil prices also propelled airlines higher, with Aer Lingus owner IAG up by 0.8 per cent, EasyJet ahead by 3.7 per cent and Wizz Air up by 2.5 per cent.
New York
Wall Street’s main indices slipped after fresh jobs data showing a cooling but not rapidly deteriorating US labour market drew an ambivalent reaction from traders.
A noisy reading that reflected some of the impacts of the longest government shutdown in US history was received by traders with caution. Stocks, bonds and the dollar saw very mild moves.
Down by 0.5 per cent at one point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost the most ground with the S&P 500 down by 0.4 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite flat.
Healthcare led losses, falling 1.1 per cent as drugmaker Eli Lilly lost 1 per cent. Pfizer slipped 3.1 per cent after its 2026 profit forecast came below analysts’ estimates.
B Riley shares jumped 23 per cent after the investment bank reported a profit for the second quarter, compared with a year-ago loss in an overdue quarterly filing.
Humana lost 2.4 per cent after the health insurer announced leadership changes. – Additional report: Reuters, Bloomberg
