Friday saw a strong finish for European shares, bolstered by a robust performance by technology stocks wrapping up an otherwise turbulent week. Moreover, the European Central Bank’s (ECB) decision to slash interest rates, along with a slew of corporate earnings reports, facilitated two successive weeks of profit for the index.
Meanwhile, in Dublin, the Iseq rose by a slight 0.2% as the week’s trading drew to close. The most activity centred around the food company Glanbia, whose stocks rose close to 4% in value to €16.32, making it one of the session’s top earners. Other contributors included Kerry Group, up 0.3% at €94.60, a 0.1% rise for Ryanair to €17.50, and Dalata Hotel Group, whose shares increased by roughly 1% to €4.29.
However, the banking sector saw a less buoyant day. Both the Bank of Ireland and AIB experienced modest declines, with their shares falling 0.5% to €8.90 and 0.2% to €4.92 respectively.
Across in London, the FTSE 100 dipped by 0.3%, a reduction in oil prices offsetting the benefits brought by better than predicted retail sales data. Those in the construction sector, along with retail brands such as Next, Marks & Spencer and JD Sports Fashion, experienced a slump despite positive retail sales growth figures released recently. Nevertheless, this 0.3% growth for September fell behind the 1% increase seen the previous month, a drop in grocery sales slowing the momentum, especially in the tech sector.
Oil prices continued to fluctuate sharply, with Brent crude falling more than 2%. Boohoo shares took a hit of 8.4% following the announcement of CEO John Lyttle’s pending departure and the company’s strategic review aiming to boost the value for shareholders.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Stoxx 600 ended with a modest 0.2% gain. This increase was led by a 2% surge in technology stocks.
Despite the tech index experiencing a 6% decrease in weekly loss, it was still the worst performer this week. This was triggered by a weak sales prediction for 2025 from ASML, which subsequently led to a slump in global chip stocks. Shares in the computer chip equipment maker were up 1% on Friday, with Soitec and BE Semiconductor Industries seeing rises of 5.6% and 2.8% respectively.
Shares in basic resources witnessed a 1.4% surge, a result of high copper prices. Luxury stock index also saw an increase of 1.1%, rebounding after an earlier decline due to LVMH’s poor third-quarter sales figures. However, Elisa’s shares dipped by 4.7% after the Finnish telecom company’s third quarter revenue fell short of expectations. Swedish medical equipment manufacturer Getinge also suffered a 5% loss, following a disappointing third-quarter core earnings report.
Meanwhile on Wall Street, stocks showed varied performance and crude oil prices were on course for their largest weekly decline in a month, owing to lacklustre data and uninspiring corporate earnings, further exacerbating concerns about a weakening global appetite. The surge in Chinese stocks triggered by Beijing’s recent policy measures designed to stimulate demand failed to ripple through to Wall Street.
Giant tech-related shares gave the Nasdaq a boost, whilst the S&P 500 saw comparatively smaller gains. A mixed bag of earnings saw Netflix’s shares soar more than 9% after they reported increased subscriber growth, in contrast, Procter & Gamble faced an unexpected reduction in sales due to dwindling demand for its products. Additional information provided by Reuters/PA.