Markets rise as traders dare to hope central banks will ease off rate hikes

European shares reversed early losses to hit a five-week high on Wednesday after a smaller-than-expected interest rate hike by the Bank of Canada ignited hopes that big central banks could temper rate-hike stance. US share prices also climbed.

Dublin

The Iseq index of Irish shares closed ahead by 0.26 per cent on a subdued day of trading. There was no bounce for Irish banks off the back of better-than-expected profits from some of their European peers reporting on Wednesday. Bank of Ireland finished the session down 0.33 per cent to €7.24 while AIB was down 0.2 per cent to €2.87.

Ryanair was up by 2.5 per cent to €11.96 per share, a day after its group chief executive Michael O’Leary said inflation would help it gain market share because some passengers would trade down from more expensive airlines.

Drugs wholesaler Uniphar was up by almost 2.7 per cent to €3.27 as some investors switched to more defensive stocks.

Your work questions answered: Can I secure a remote working arrangement with one office visit per month?

---

London’s financial hub ‘ready for labour’

---

Falling fertility rates are one of the biggest challenges facing our world

---

US investor to offload Cork’s Blackpool Shopping Centre at heavily discounted €49.5m

---

London

UK’s blue-chip index hit three-week highs on the hopes that big central banks will tone down their hawkish rhetoric, while news that Britain’s prime minister Rishi Sunak will delay a keenly awaited budget did little to spook investors.

The FTSE 100 index reversed course to end the session up 0.6 per cent, its strongest close since October 5th, while the domestically focused FTSE 250 index rose 1.5 per cent to touch a fresh one-month high.

Standard Chartered fell 5.1 per cent despite a 40 per cent surge in profit after the Asia-exposed bank said the outlook for China’s property sector remained “challenging”.

Barclays slipped 0.3 per cent after it set aside a hefty charge for potentially soured loans, highlighting a tough outlook for borrowing.

Reckitt Benckiser dropped 4.1 per cent after the consumer goods company reported a decline in sales volumes in the third quarter and warned of pressure on consumers globally.

AstraZeneca jumped 2.9 per cent after the drugmaker said its experimental drug Capivasertib had met the main goals of a breast cancer study.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the session up 0.7 per cent at its strongest level since September 20th. Germany’s blue-chip Dax jumped 1.1 per cent, France’s Cac 40 rose 0.4 per cent and Italy’s FTSE MIB climbed 0.5 per cent, all the three hitting a six-week highs.

Europe’s technology index closed marginally lower after its US peers were dragged down by weak results from Microsoft and Alphabet.

Shares of Germany’s Deutsche Bank rose 1.2 per cent, while Britain’s Barclays and Spain’s Santander slipped as they warned of growing risks even as they posted stronger-than-expected profits. The European banking index slipped 0.3 per cent. Italy’s UniCredit rose 4.3 per cent after the bank raised its 2022 profit goal.

Dutch brewer Heineken fell 5.4 per cent after the world’s second-largest brewery said it had seen signs of slowdown in demand in some European markets. ASM International tumbled 7.8 per cent, after the Dutch chip supplier said it expected new US export restrictions to weigh heavily on its sales in China.

New York

The S&P 500 and the Dow edged higher by afternoon trading on renewed bets of a slowdown in the pace of interest rate hikes, while the Nasdaq remained under pressure from downbeat results and warnings from Microsoft and Alphabet.

The Nasdaq index was weighed down by Microsoft, which tumbled 5.8 per cent as it posted its lowest sales growth in five years and forecast second-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates. Alphabet fell 6.5 per cent after reporting downbeat ad sales and warned of a slowdown in advertising spending by businesses.

Shares of ad revenue dependent social media firm Meta Platforms fell 2.6 per cent ahead of results due after hours, while Pinterest dropped 1.4 per cent.

Visa jumped 5.2 per cent, boosting the Dow, after the payments processor topped quarterly profit estimates on strong travel demand. — Additional reporting: Reuters