Monday saw minimal alterations in international stocks as investors re-evaluated the trajectory of interest rates, influenced by the higher than anticipated US payroll report from Friday, which sparked projections of less severe rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
In Dublin, Euronext Dublin saw a slight growth of 0.25%, marking a modest day in the market typified by decreased trading volumes and a minor news-flow. Certain financial entities showed a comeback following last week’s frailties, with both AIB and Bank of Ireland rising, 3% and 1% respectively, by day’s end. Yet, budget airline Ryanair fell by 1.5%, surrendering some gains after performing strongly the previous week. Some of the prominent firms on the index saw varying results – Kerry Group ended the day evenly, Kingspan rose 0.4%, and Origin Enterprises increased by 3.5%.
Over in London, the leading FTSE 100 Index grew by 0.3% due to boosted energy shares and a more pliant labour market report. The FTSE 250 fell slightly by 0.2%. Energy shares saw the most growth, with a rise of 2%, as fears of conflict in the Middle East and subsequent disruption to oil exports caused a surge in oil prices. Despite a nearly 30% descent in its refining profit margins in Q3 due to the dwindling global demand, Shell saw an increase of 2.3%. Meanwhile, BP retracted a target to diminish oil and gas production by 2030, resulting in a 1.3% rise by session’s close. On the other hand, Endeavour Mining suffered a 5.6% fall, amid concerns that Burkina Faso might retract its mining permit.
European stock markets experienced an uneven session, with Germany’s Dax declining by 0.09% and France’s Cac 40 elevating by 0.46%.
The MSCI international stock index remained steady, and the Stoxx 600 index increased by 0.14 per cent. Increased bond yields in the eurozone added fuel to a substantial rise seen in the precedent week. A 25 basis point cut in interest rates is highly expected in the next European Central Bank meeting.
US stock indices suffered a tad fall, attributed to the rising yields of Treasury, as markets re-evaluate the possibility of rate reductions from the Federal Reserve. When European markets wrapped up for the day, the S&P 500 had suffered a 0.35 per cent drop while the Dow Jones was 0.5 per cent lower.
The spike in yield cast a negative spotlight on rate reactive large-cap growth shares. Consequently, Tesla’s shares dropped by 2.3 per cent, Google’s parent company, Alphabet, saw a fall of 0.7 per cent and Amazon plummeted nearly 2.5 per cent following a downgrade from Wells Fargo.
On a brighter note, Pfizer saw their shares increase by 3.1 per cent after reports that activist investor Starboard Value had taken a stake worth $1 billion in the pharmaceutical giant. Air Products and Chemicals also experienced a profitable period, reporting an increase of 7.8 per cent; it is reported that activist hedge fund Mantle Ridge has taken a position in the company.
Moreover, US property and casualty insurance stocks suffered a blow due to Hurricane Milton heading toward the western coast of Florida, presenting another pricey disaster for the industry to contend with this year. Heritage Insurance who are Florida-based, saw a decrease of 27 per cent. Both Universal Insurance and HCI Group respectively fell by 14 per cent and 16 per cent. The sector’s leading firm, Travelers Companies, saw a 3 per cent decline, while Allstate and Assurant experienced respective falls of 3.3 per cent and 4 per cent.