Shares slipped on Thursday as the US and Iran remained deadlocked over peace talks, once again raising the spectre of an energy crisis, but some strong performances propped up the Irish market.
DUBLIN
AIB gained 2.17 per cent to €9.992 on auction of its stock. Investors are betting that inflationary pressures will boost interest rates, which is generally good news for banks’ earnings, dealers noted.
Insulation and building materials specialist Kingspan gained 1.38 per cent to close at €73.40.
Ryanair closed down 0.3 per cent at €23.46, but the stock had earlier traded at €23.75, almost 1.9 per cent more than its previous close.
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Traders noted that the market had been positive about main rival Easyjet’s interim results on Thursday. “That was a good ‘read-through’ for Ryanair,” said one.
The Irish carrier this week reported record profits of €2.26 billion for the 12 months ended March 31st.
Food and ingredients group Glanbia shed 2.04 per cent to close at €20.14.
Insurer FBD Holdings added 2.13 per cent to €16.75.
LONDON
Britain’s blue-chip stock index ended flat on Thursday, as risk sentiment remained shaky following downbeat domestic data and persisting worries that the Middle East conflict could drag on.
Budget airline Easyjet inched 0.9 per cent up to 350.3 pence sterling after reporting that it lost £552 million sterling (€638 million) in the six months to the end of March.
Dealers noted that investors took a positive view of the results given current turbulence in air travel.
Chief executive, Kenton Jarvis, told the BBC that the carrier would have enough fuel for the critical summer season and would fly its holiday schedule as planned.
EUROPE
Automaker Stellantis shares were down 5.7 per cent in afternoon trade in Milan after earlier shedding as much as 7.4 per cent after plans to streamline its sprawling collection of brands failed to impress investors.
The group will spend €60 billion through to 2030 to launch 60 new models, prioritising the Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat brands. In North America, it plans to add a new compact and midsize pickup truck as well as a new entry-level model for the Dodge brand to help it rebuild after years of sales declines.
Telecom Italia concluded a transaction to convert a class of shares carrying higher investor remuneration into ordinary stock, in a move that cuts extra costs for the group. Its shares were flat at 72 cent.
In European equity markets on Thursday, the CAC 40 in Paris ended down 0.4 per cent and the DAX 40 in Frankfurt fell 0.5 per cent.
United States
Nividia’s stock was down around 2 per cent shortly after 4.30pm Irish time, despite the AI chip market reporting that it tripled revenues to $58 billion in the three months to the end of March. Analysts argue that investors fear the company will exhaust the number of big customers responsible for much of its recent growth.
Fashion giant Ralph Lauren beat expectations with quarterly revenue of $1.85 billion demonstrating continued momentum with consumers in the face of ongoing tariff uncertainty. Its stock had soared more than 11 per cent by late afternoon.
Deere & Co’s farm machinery sales stayed sluggish in North America, raising questions on when the agriculture economy will start improving. Its stock had slumped 5.6 per cent by late afternoon Irish time.
Drug maker Eli Lilly, which has a significant Irish operation, was up around 2 per cent. Earlier it said that nearly half of patients who got a high dose of its next-generation obesity shot lost the same amount of weight as if they had undergone surgery. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Press Association, Reuters
