European stocks up despite bleak IMF economic report

Irish Times

22-04-2025

European shares ended slightly higher though sentiment remained shaky after US president Donald Trump's critique of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell.
Britain's economic outlook faced a big setback as the International Monetary Fund delivered its steepest downgrade for any big European economy, cutting the UK's 2025 growth forecast from 1.6 per cent to 1.1 per cent.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All Share Index finished up 0.47 per cent to 10,014.30.
Hostelworld was the largest faller on the day. The company, whose chairman Ulrik Bengtsson last month announced his intention to step down later this year, saw its shares drop 14.29 per cent to €1.50.
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Elsewhere, there were declines for Glanbia, down 2.37 per cent to €9.87, Kingspan which slipped 0.21 per cent to €70.60 and toolmaker Mincon Group which fell 2.5 per cent to €0.39.
In banking, AIB and Bank of Ireland both advanced, by 1.28 per cent and 0.69 per cent respectively, while Permanent TSB climbed 1.65 per cent by the close.
Hotel group Dalata, whose €80 million-plus bid for rival Radisson's property at Dublin Airport, is now under review by the competition regulator, climbed 0.19 per cent to finish at €5.14.
LONDON
Britain's FTSE 100 index edged higher, extending its winning streak to seven consecutive sessions after the long Easter weekend, led by consumer staples and financial shares.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index rose 0.6 per cent to its highest level since April 4th while the midcap index was little changed.
DCC languished at the bottom of the blue-chip index after the conglomerate confirmed the sale if its healthcare division to private equity firm Investindustrial Advisors. Its shares fell 3.6 per cent on investor disappointment at the price secured.
Supermarket J Sainsbury rose 2.3 per cent after JP Morgan raised its target price on the stock. Tesco, Britain's biggest supermarket group, also ended higher, gaining 1.5 per cent. Heavyweight financials added 1.2 per cent.
Mining shares rose 0.9 per cent after copper prices in London hit a more than two-week high. Homebuilders extended their winning streak to a fifth-straight session with a 1 per cent climb.
EUROPE
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended 0.2 per cent higher, well off session lows, with L'Oréal jumping 6.3 per cent for its best single-day gain in nearly seven months.
European banks also had a strong start to the shortened trading week, finishing 0.7 per cent higher while the basic resources index – which includes Europe's biggest mining companies – gained 1.2 per cent on the back of higher metal prices.
However, heightened global trade tensions remained at the heart of investor concerns as they returned from an extended Easter weekend.
The ECB's survey of professional forecasters indicated euro zone inflation could be a touch higher this year than earlier thought, but will then stabilise at the European Central Bank's 2 per cent target.
Shares in Swiss insurers Helvetia and Baloise rose 2.6 per cent and 4.7 per cent respectively after they said they plan to merge, creating Switzerland's second-largest insurance group.
On the downside, Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk dropped 7.4 per cent to its lowest since October 2022, in the wake of trial results from US rival Eli Lilly's experimental pill for weight loss showed it working just as well as Novo Nordisk's blockbuster drug Ozempic. The region-wide healthcare index fell 0.6 per cent.
Danish renewables company Orsted fell 4.7 per cent after Barclays cut the company's stock to 'underweight' from 'equal weight'.
NEW YORK
Wall Street's main indices rebounded on Tuesday from a steep sell-off in the previous session sparked by president Donald Trump's mounting criticism of Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell. Some optimism on US trade negotiations also helped indices hit session highs.
Earnings were a mixed bag on the day. Shares of industrial conglomerate 3M, the biggest gainer on the blue-chip Dow, jumped 6.9 per cent after the company beat first-quarter profit expectations.
Megacaps also recovered, with Nvidia rising 1.9 per cent and Apple up 2.8 per cent.
Northrop Grumman slumped 11.75 per cent after reporting a sharp drop in profit, while RTX tumbled 8.9 per cent after the company flagged a potential hit of about $850 million to its annual profit from the tariffs.
The overall mood remained fragile as investors awaited Mr Trump's next move in his relentless tussle with Mr Powell over interest rates. Wall Street had been down more than 2 per cent on Monday.
While the S&P 500 recovered the ground it had lost on Monday, it has yet to fully recoup declines since the April 2nd 'liberation day' tariff announcement.