Global stocks came off session lows on Tuesday, with traders assessing economic data for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will be able to decelerate its pace of monetary tightening soon to prevent a hard landing.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin underperformed its international peers, finishing flat on what was a muted day, according to traders.
Bank of Ireland was the standout performer, climbing 2.5 per cent.
In contrast, Ryanair was unchanged on the day, lagging some its peers with EasyJet, Lufthansa and Aer Lingus parent International Airlines Group all up.
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Grafton Group, the parent of DIY chain Woodie’s, rose 1.7 per cent. It announced the appointment of Eric Born has its new chief executive, replacing Gavin Slark, on Friday.
“That was a good result for them given they struggled towards the end of last week,” said a trader. “Markets are still digesting the appointment of a new chief executive there last Friday.”
Insulation specialist Kingspan, which has been volatile of late, was unchanged on the day. Elsewhere, box-maker Smurfit Kappa and dairy company Kerry Group both gained 1 per cent at close of business.
London
London-listed mining giants soared amid hopes that Chinese markets might open up if the country slowly abandons its zero-Covid policy.
The FTSE 100 jumped on the day, lifted by its natural resources giants, and a strong performance from online groceries firm Ocado. By the end of the day the index closed up 1.3 per cent.
Among the big risers on the FTSE were B&M, which gained 17.5p to 340.25p; Anglo American, up 132.5p to 2,740.25p; Rolls-Royce, up 3.43p to 81.62p; and Glencore, which closed up 20.6p to 520.05p.
Some of the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 were Rentokil, down 23.4p to 521p; Experian, down 86p to 2,688p; and BT, down 1p to 128.9p.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index rose 0.50 per cent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.07 per cent.
In Germany the Dax index gained 0.6 per cent, while France’s Cac 40 closed up 0.9 per cent.
“European markets initially raced out of the traps in early trade after Asia markets rallied strongly on unconfirmed reports that China was looking at a plan for the unwinding of its current zero-Covid strategy,” said CMC Market analyst Michael Hewson.
“While this might come across as wishful thinking for the most part, Chinese authorities will have to relent on this policy at some point, although it’s unlikely to happen much before March next year.”
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes fell after data pointing to strength in the labour market dented hopes that the Federal Reserve would signal an easing in the pace of its interest rate hikes.
Bogging down the tech-heavy Nasdaq, megacap growth firms such as Amazon, Alphabet and Microsoft fell between 2 per cent and 6 per cent.
Meanwhile, among S&P 500 sectors, energy continued to outperform, rising as much as 1.4 per cent.
By lunchtime in New York the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.37 per cent; the S&P 500 was off 0.47 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite had fallen or 0.81 per cent.
Among single stocks, Uber Technologies climbed 12.1 per cent after giving an upbeat fourth-quarter profit view that also lifted shares of its rivals Lyft and DoorDash.
Pfizer rose 2.7 per cent after the drugmaker raised full-year sales estimates for its Covid-19 vaccine, while Eli Lilly slipped 4.6 per cent on trimming its profit forecast.
US-listed shares of Chinese firms such as JD.com and Alibaba Group Holding rose between 0.5 per cent and 5 per cent following rumours based on an unverified note circulating on social media that China was planning a reopening from strict Covid-19 curbs in March.
The S&P index recorded 22 new 52-week highs and eight new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 80 new highs and 73 new lows. – Additional reporting: agencies
