Global markets rose on Thursday as the cooling of geopolitical tensions, a rally in big tech and solid economic data fuelled gains.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the day up 1.5 per cent mainly on the back of a surge from Bank of Ireland.
The index was described by a trader as a “sea of green”, with Bank of Ireland and AIB up 3.2 per cent and 1.45 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere, Cavan-based insulation specialist Kingspan had a good day as it climbed almost 2 per cent. The airlines also enjoyed positive moves with Ryanair up 1.3 per cent.
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Healthcare services group Uniphar was a standout performer as it rose 4 per cent. The company acquired Irish-owned retail technology business TouchStore for an undisclosed sum in a deal it described as “transformational” last week.
“It is all global and political stuff driving these moves rather than anything specifically stock-related,” the trader said.
On the downside, food giant Kerry Group finished down 0.4 per cent. “It’s pretty unloved at the moment, along with the whole ingredients sector,” the trader added.
London
The FTSE 100 made rose 0.1 per cent after US president Donald Trump walked back on threats to impose tariffs, but underperformed European peers amid soft mining, energy and defence stocks.
Defence stocks BAE Systems and Babcock International gave up 3.7 per cent and 1.4 per cent on the cooler geopolitical temperature.
Miners were another weak feature after recent gains. Antofagasta fell 2.2 per cent, Glencore dropped 2 per cent and Anglo America eased 1.7 per cent.
Insurer Admiral fell a further 4.6 per cent as RBC Capital Markets downgraded to “sector perform” from “outperform”, the day after Goldman Sachs lowered the stock.
On the FTSE 250, Computacenter led the way, up 10 per cent, after better than expected trading in 2025.
Europe
Euro-zone bonds steadied with longer-dated bond yields pulling back slightly while shorter-dated ones inched higher after an easing in geopolitical tensions.
Germany’s 10-year yield, the euro-zone benchmark, was last steady at 2.8791 per cent after edging down earlier in the session, after rising for the previous five sessions.
Yields on super-long 30-year German debt, which had risen more sharply earlier in the week, fell about one basis point to 3.494 per cent, while the two-year yield was up about two basis points at 2.109 per cent.
In European equities, the Cac 40 in Paris closed up 1 per cent, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt ended 1.2 per cent higher. The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 1 per cent.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes rose toward record highs after Mr Trump dialled back his threat of tariffs on European countries, while a new batch of economic data underscored a resilient US economy.
The gains follow the S&P 500’s biggest one-day percentage gain in two months on Wednesday when Mr Trump stepped back from imposing tariffs as leverage to seize Greenland and said a deal was in sight to end a dispute over the Danish territory.
Trump’s tariff threats had sent shivers through global markets on Tuesday, though buyers quickly returned to stock markets following his U-turn.
Tech stocks were at the forefront of the rally, with Alphabet, Tesla and Apple all up nearly 1 per cent, while Meta gained 3 per cent.
GE Aerospace slipped 5.4 per cent despite forecasting its annual profit above estimates, while Abbott slid 6.9 per cent after the medical device maker forecast current-quarter profit below Wall Street expectations.
Procter & Gamble gained 2.2 per cent following its quarterly results. Chipmaker Intel, up 47 per cent so far this year, was expected to post results after the bell.
US-listed shares of Alibaba Holdings rose 6.2 per cent after Bloomberg News reported the Chinese ecommerce firm is preparing to list its chip-making arm, T-Head. – Additional reporting: agencies
