Irish shares rose for the third day in a row on Thursday, in line with other European markets, as they continued to claw back some of the ground lost in the aftermath of the UK’s Brexit referendum.
The Iseq index closed up 1 per cent at 5,642.5 points in Dublin, having had a choppy run earlier in the session, when it fell as much as 0.3 per cent. The FTSE ended the day up 2.3 per cent, while the Stoxx 600, a benchmark for the wider European market, added 1 per cent.
Markets have regained their poise after a short bout of volatility following Britain’s vote last week to leave the EU, but concerns remain about the longer term economic outlook and the potential for renewed turbulence.
Sterling reversed early gains as Bank of England governor Mark Carney said the central bank would probably need to pump more stimulus into Britain's economy. Investors largely expect the Bank to cut interest rates over the summer and ramp up its bond-buying programme. The news sent UK shares surging.
Not enough
The equity rebound of the last three days was not enough, however, to completely offset losses suffered in recent days which have put global stocks on track for their worst monthly performance since January, down 1.6 per cent for the month.
Meanwhile, the market interest rate, or yield, on Ireland’s benchmark 10-year bonds fell to another record low of 0.509 per cent on Thursday amid rising specuatlion the European Central Bank will also do whatever it takes to maintain stability in the markets.
Back on the Dublin stock market, Hibernia Reit added 5.1 per cent, while Permanent TSB gained 4.8 per cent and FBDmoved 3.3 per cent higher. Among the losers, Kingspan declined 3.6 per cent and Irish Residential Properties Reit dropped 6.3 per cent.
