Global markets were modestly higher on Wednesday while the US dollar advanced as investors digested the latest economic data and waited for the Federal Reserve’s policy announcement.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin lagged international peers as it finished the day down 1.2 per cent, dragged into the red by food giant Kerry group.
The company finished 6.7 per cent weaker after it reported that revenue rose by 1.3 per cent to €3.5 billion in the first half of 2025 despite what it described as a “soft” demand environment linked to macroeconomic uncertainty.
“They opened very weak on the back of those results,” said a trader. “They were down 10 or 11 per cent at one stage. All told, the market was obviously somewhat disappointed with the numbers.
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“I understand they cited China and the Middle East as having underperformed what they expected, so perhaps that was a factor. It did recover somewhat in the afternoon, but then gave up some of those gains again.”
Elsewhere, no frills airline Ryanair finished the day down 1 per cent but still in a strong position on €25.60.
Among the home builders, Glenveagh Properties and Cairn Homes were both undermined by negative moves in the UK homebuilding sector, finishing 1.2 per cent and 1.9 per cent in the red respectively.
Ires Reit, the biggest landlord in the State, closed down 1.1 per cent.
Among the financials, Bank of Ireland finished up 75 basis points after what one trader described as a “somewhat disappointing day” on Tuesday, while AIB was up 36 basis points at close of business.
London
The FTSE 100 was flat as it struggled for direction, despite progress elsewhere, with investors digesting another earnings deluge and looking ahead to the US rate call and earnings from technology titans Meta and Microsoft.
The FTSE 250 closed down 0.1 per cent, while the AIM All-Share closed down 0.4 per cent.
GSK climbed 4.8 per cent as it forecast annual sales growth at the top end of its outlook range after “another quarter of excellent performance” saw revenue and profit beat forecasts.
HSBC slumped 5 per cent as it said pretax profit fell 27 per cent in the six months ended June 30th.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey shed 6 per cent after revealing a multimillion pound increase in its cladding fire safety provision, a move RBC Capital Markets said caused several investors “to choke on their cornflakes”.
Europe
On the Continent, the Cac-40 in Paris and the Dax 40 in Frankfurt each rose 0.2 per cent, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index and the MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe were both flat.
L’Oreal rose 4 per cent after the French beauty-products company’s sales expanded more than expected in North America and returned to growth in China.
Autos led losses with Mercedes-Benz Group leading the decline after scaling back its business outlooks.
In other earnings news, Adidas fell 12 per cent as the footwear giant reported weaker-than-expected revenue growth. French consumer goods company Danone rallied 7.4 per cent as its sales beat expectations with volumes rising in most of its categories.
New York
Wall Street traded within a tight range as investors assessed second-quarter GDP data and braced for the Federal Reserve’s policy decision and earnings from technology behemoths.
Hershey gained 2.3 per cent on results that topped forecasts. VF Corp, parent of Vans, jumped 9.3 per cent, while Kraft Heinz was largely steady after both companies beat quarterly revenue estimates, adding to the consumer-driven rally.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq snapped their record run due to disappointing results from Dow components UnitedHealth and Merck.
Investors are now placing their bets on results from megacaps to steer Wall Street to new highs. Microsoft and Meta Platforms report after the market closes, while Amazon and Apple will report on Thursday. – Additional reporting: Agencies
