The global markets had a quiet trading day on Wednesday as investors were on the lookout for significant inflation data from the US expected to be released on Good Friday, a day when many markets will be shut. Among the European markets, Ireland’s ISEQ All Share Index did not perform as strongly, ending in a loss.
In Dublin, Euronext registered a small decline on Wednesday, closing at 9,867.82, down by 0.28%. Prominent banking institutions performed weakly, with AIB going down by 0.61% to €4.58, Bank of Ireland slipping 0.31% to €9.03 and Permanent TSB ended lower by 0.36% at €1.39.
In the real estate sector, Cairn Homes noted a modest gain of 0.12% and closed at €1.61, contrastingly, Glenveagh Properties fell 0.94% to €1.26. Kingspan, a construction material firm encountered an increase in share price by 0.69%, ending at €84.38.
In the food sector, Kerry Group’s shares fell 1.36% to conclude at €79.60, while Glanbia augmented by 0.44% closing at €18.32. Packaging behemoth Smurfit Kappa saw a minor drop of 0.26% to €42.12. Additionally, Ryanair experienced a small setback of 0.24%, with shares closing at €20.98. Technology company FD Technologies, however, witnessed an impressive gain of 5.93%, ending the day at €14.30.
In London, the FTSE 100 Index, heavy with international exports, remained virtually unchanged with a tiny gain of 0.01% to 7,931.98. The FTSE Mid-Cap 250 Index, more oriented towards domestic stocks, rose by 0.17% to 19,810.66.
DS Smith led the FTSE 100 Index with a massive gain of 10.23% after it confirmed talks with International Paper over a potential all-stock merger worth £5.72 billion (€6.68 billion) with its US competitor. Moreover, Diploma, a specialised products and services distributor experienced a surge of 9.46% following its announcement of acquiring Peerless Aerospace Fastener for £236 million (€275.47 million).
Flutter Entertainment, Paddy Power’s parent company, languished at the foot of the FTSE 100 Index, shedding 8.31% of its value, following Tuesday’s announcement of a net loss equivalent to $1.2 billion (£902 million) in 2023.
In Europe, share prices dipped on Wednesday after the record-breaking progress of the previous day’s business. The collective STOXX 600 Index across Europe grew by a marginal 0.13% and ended the day at 511.74. Germany’s DAX Index upped by 0.49% to conclude at 18,475.06, while the CAC 40 Index in France gained 0.25% to arrive at 8,204.81.
Sweden’s software company, Fortnox suffered a 14.28% decrease in its share value following an investigative piece by the Financial Times suggesting the company was being targeted by short sellers. Meanwhile, H&M, holding the rank of the world’s second-largest publicly traded fashion company, saw a leap of 15.17% in shares after surpassing the first quarter operating profit predictions.
Other notable performers included Deutsche Bank with a 2.68% growth hitting a six-year record following Morgan Stanley’s upgrade to “overweight”.
Crossing over to New York, The Dow Jones Index outperformed competing Wall Street indices in the slim trading of Wednesday. This surge was fueled by a significant uptick in Merck’s shares after it received US Food and Drug Administration clearance for its unique therapy meant for adults with a specific lung condition.
Trump Media & Technology Group’s shares skyrocketed after its initial public offering on Nasdaq while Nvidia, AI behemoth, experienced a downturn. Robinhood Markets, the online trading app, saw a surge after the introduction of a new credit card. In contrast, GameStop’s shares dipped following a reported decrease in the fourth-quarter revenue and the company’s announcement to lay off an undisclosed amount of staff for cost cuts. US investors are anxiously awaiting the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) data, the Federal Reserve’s chosen inflation metric, due on Good Friday when the US stock market will be closed. Additional data compiled from Reuters.