World stocks were steady and US stock index futures indicated a lower open on Wall Street on the last trading day of 2022, but equities are on course for a 20 per cent drop over a year marred by high inflation and war in Europe.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the session down 1 per cent on Friday, despite a modest late rally, as traders went home early in advance of the new year celebrations. That brought its loss over a truncated week to 1.7 per cent.
Building materials giant CRH – the biggest company on the Irish market – ended the day down 1 per cent, while insulation specialist Kingspan was down 1.4 per cent in what has been a miserable year for the stock that has seen it lose more than half its market value after being one of the stars of the index in 2021.
Another big name, Paddy Power Betfair parent Flutter Entertainment, fell 1.3 per cent in trading.
Irish Ferries operator Irish Continental Group gave up some of the gains it made on Thursday as shares fell by 2.5 per cent.
Among the property names, Cairn Homes was down 1.4 per cent, while Glenveagh Properties was down 70 basis points. Ires Reit, the biggest landlord in the State, finished the day up 1.3 per cent.
Elsewhere, AIB and Bank of Ireland were both flat on the day, while budget airline Ryanair finished trading down 1.5 per cent and both Kerry Group and box-maker Smurfit Kappa shed 1.3 per cent.
London
There was just a half day of trading in London also, and shares there too closed the year on a low note.
There was no festive mood as the FTSE 100 closed down 0.8 per cent, meaning that the index has gained less than 100 points in a year.
The fall on Friday was led by Britain’s biggest housebuilders, as figures on Friday from the Nationwide Building Society showed another fall in house prices. For the fourth month in a row, house prices fell in December, according to the building society.
By the end of the session, Barratt Developments and Persimmon were at the bottom of the FTSE 100. Each saw its shares drop by more than 2 per cent. Rightmove, Taylor Wimpey and Berkeley Group were also among the biggest losers.
The strongest performers on the FTSE 100 were JD Sports, up 3.85p to 127p, Coca-Cola HBC, which was 42p ahead on 1,970.5p, Fresnillo, which finished 15.2p stronger on 900.3p, Next, which firmed 94p to 5,843p and Informa, which closed at 624.1p, up 4.4p.
The biggest fallers were Persimmon, down 31p to 1,224p, Barratt, which was off 9p at 400.35p, Ocado, which was 14p weaker on 620p, Schroders, at 437.15p, down 8p, and Airtel Africa, which softened by 2p to 111.8p.
Europe
European stocks fell 1 per cent as surging Covid-19 cases in China stoked concerns over global economic growth. Indices were on course for their biggest annual drop since 2018.
In Germany, the Dax index was trading down 0.8 per cent around the time that markets closed in Dublin, while France’s Cac 40 was down 0.7 per cent. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell 1.3 per cent.
New York
Wall Street equity indices lost ground, while treasury yields were gaining and oil futures were up slightly as investors braced for myriad worries in 2023, with economic growth and the US Federal Reserve rate-hiking path all in question.
With battered growth stocks and the Nasdaq leading declines, Wall Street’s main indices were dragged lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.71 per cent; the S&P 500 lost 0.79 per cent; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.83 per cent.
The S&P 500 was eyeing a roughly 20 per cent fall for 2022 while Nasdaq was off about 33 per cent and the Dow Jones index was heading for a 9 per cent drop for the year.
MSCI’s world equity index, down 0.57 per cent on the day so far, was heading for a roughly 20 per cent annual fall, its largest since the global financial crisis of 2008, when it slid more than 43 per cent.
– Additional reporting: Agencies
