Despite retail stocks weighing down the market, European stocks were little changed on Wednesday. General stocks gains limited the losses as investors reacted to changes in US taxation policies.
The pan-European STOXX 600 closed slightly lower, down 0.8 per cent, as Dublin saw a marginal day of trading.
Dublin
While fallers outnumbered risers, the Iseq All-Share index ended the session slightly up 25.31 or 0.22 per cent from its previous close, at 11,399.48, its highest ever close.
There was a mixed performance in the banking sector. Bank of Ireland rose 0.89 per cent to €11.995, following on from a strong performance on Tuesday. Fellow banking stocks, Permanent TSB dropped 0.58 per cent and AIB Group fell 0.45 per cent.
Defensive stocks also had a mixed day of trading. While Kerry Group added 0.67 per cent, rising to a share price of €97.35, fellow dairy giant Glanbia fell 0.24 per cent. Healthcare services group Uniphar saw a 1 per cent fall in its share price.
Ryanair, which rose 5 per cent after publishing financial results on Monday, saw a third consecutive rise this week adding 0.63 per cent, reaching €23.85 per share.
London
The FTSE 100 was nearly flat with a 0.06 per cent gain, while the midcap FTSE 250 fell 0.7 per cent, as the inflation data triggered a slight wobble on the more domestically-focused index.
Among blue-chips, sportswear retailer JD Sports’ shares were the worst hit, dropping 10.6 per cent after it warned that President Donald Trump’s tariffs may force the company to hike prices in the key market.
SSE fell 2.4 per cent after the renewable energy generator cut its five-year investment plans by 15 per cent.
Keeping losses in check, precious metal miners gained 3 per cent as gold prices rose for a third straight session and hit a one-week high.
Fresnillo gained the most in the FTSE 100 with 4.2 per cent rise.
Water utility Severn Trent shares gained 2.3 per cent after it projected a doubling of adjusted earnings per share between 2025 to 2028.
Europe
The European benchmark shed 0.8 per cent amid declines in luxury and retail stocks.
JD Sports fell 10.6 per cent to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after posting a 2 per cent drop in first-quarter underlying sales and warned that higher prices in its key U.S. market could hit customer demand.
LVMH, Hermes and Kering among others fell over 2 per cent after luxury group Chanel reported a 4.3 per cent drop in its comparable yearly sales.
Tech shares helped to outweigh these losses, German chipmaker Infineon’s 2.3 per cent gain after it said it would work with Nvidia to develop chips for new power delivery systems inside artificial intelligence data centres provided a boost to the sector.
The STOXX 600, however, has recovered from its April slump, and is trading less than 3 per cent away from its all-time highs.
An index tracking defence stocks was up 0.5 per cent after Trump selected a design for the $175 billion Golden Dome missile defence shield on Tuesday.
Morgan Stanley raised its view on the European banking sector to “attractive”, citing better earnings potential from continued yield steepening. The European banks index is among the top performing sectors this year.
Swiss bank Julius Baer slid 4.9 per cent after reporting a 130 million Swiss franc ($156.4 million) charge from a credit portfolio review and replacing its chief risk officer.
New York
In a volatile session on Wall Street, the S & P500 had slipped with Treasury yields rising in reaction to the US President Donald Trump’s proposed tax-cut law during mid afternoon trading.
Boosting the Nasdaq, Google-parent Alphabet recorded a jump, while Nvidia and Meta Platforms climbed saw stocks rise slightly.
Nine of the 11 S&P sub-sectors traded lower, with Healthcare being the worst hit.
UnitedHealth Group saw its shares fall, following a Guardian report said the healthcare conglomerate secretly paid nursing homes thousands in bonuses to help reduce hospital transfers for ailing residents. HSBC also downgraded the stock to “reduce” from “hold”.
In earnings, retailer Target fell after slashing its annual forecast due to a pullback in discretionary spending.
Wolfspeed had lost nearly 70 per cent during mid afternoon trading following a report that the semiconductor supplier was preparing to file for bankruptcy within weeks.
Despite the losses, U.S. stocks have had a solid month so far. The S&P 500 has climbed more than 17 per cent from its April lows, when Trump’s reciprocal tariffs roiled global markets.
On the back of bitcoin recording a fresh all-time high of $109,481.83 (€96,460.61) during the session, exchange operator Coinbase gained alongside crypto miners such as Riot Platforms. – Additional reporting by Reuters.
