A rally in the world’s largest technology companies left stocks at all-time highs amid speculation that artificial intelligence will keep driving earnings for the group that has powered the bull market.
While most sectors in the US’s S&P 500 took a breather after a three-day run, the cohort of tech megacaps kept powering ahead.
Dublin
Shares in food technology and ingredients company Kerry Group fell by 2.4 per cent after positive moves last week in the wake of third quarter results in which it maintained its full-year earnings guidance.
Iseq heavyweight Ryanair joined in the positive vibes across Europe, rising 0.7 per cent to €25.89.
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Bank of Ireland and AIB also rose by 1 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively. Home builder Cairn, however, fell by 1.45 per cent.
London
The FTSE 100 recorded another record high boosted by a HSBC rally. The index closed up 42.92 points, or 0.4 per cent, at 9,696.74, a new closing peak. It had earlier set a new intraday high of 9,727.09.
HSBC rose 4.6 per cent after raising guidance following better-than-expected third quarter results. It had been knocked on Monday after saying it would make provision for costs related to the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme.
The Asia-focused, London-based bank said pretax profit fell 14 per cent to £5.50 billion in the three months ending on September 30th, down from £6.38 billion a year earlier.
Leading the FTSE 100 was Airtel Africa, which climbed 16 per cent after raising capital expenditure forecasts to build on improved sales, earnings and customer numbers reported in the first half of the financial year.
The biggest fallers were Barratt Redrow, down 9.9p at 393.8p, Burberry, down 25.5p at 1,300p, Rentokil Initial, down 8.2p at 431.6p.
Europe
Europe’s Stoxx 600 was down 0.2 per cent after hitting a lifetime high on Monday. Big bourses in Frankfurt and Paris were close to unchanged on the day. Spain’s Ibex also inched up to touch a new record, surpassing its previous peak at the onset of the financial crisis in 2007.
Among individual movers in Europe, Novartis dropped after the Swiss pharmaceuticals company missed analysts’ earnings estimates. BNP Paribas fell after its trading unit suffered a hit from souring debt, with loan-loss provisions rising.
“Investors are moving with a little more caution on Tuesday as there are significant risk events ahead, including the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee] meeting and the start of the MAG7 earnings reports,” said Daniela Hathorn, senior market analyst at Capital.com.
New York
Wall Street’s three main indices hovered near record highs, underpinned by shares of megacap tech stocks such as Microsoft and Apple in a week packed with earnings from US heavyweights.
Microsoft jumped 2.2 per cent after reaching a deal that allows OpenAI to restructure into a public benefit corporation while giving Microsoft a stake of 27 per cent in the ChatGPT maker.
Apple shares crossed $4 trillion in market value for the first time earlier in the day, hitting a record high before easing to trade flat. Strong demand for the latest iPhone models has allayed fears over its slow progress in the AI race. Nvidia plans to make a $1 billion equity investment in Nokia.
Microsoft, Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and Meta are scheduled to report results later in the week, with investors scrutinising any AI-related updates to justify high valuations and hefty investments.
“It’s been pretty impressive from our view that we continue to hit all-time highs. Tech and AI and the Big Seven have been driving performance as of late, but earnings have been good as well,” said Jack Herr, primary investment analyst at Guidestone.
On the earnings front, global economy bellwether United Parcel Service forecast fourth-quarter revenue above expectations, sending shares up 8 per cent. Rival FedEx added 1.6 per cent. – Additional reporting by Reuters and Bloomberg
