Tuesday saw a dip in global stocks as investors eagerly awaited essential US inflation data, scheduled for release on Wednesday, and the announcement of the European Central Bank’s latest interest rate decision, due in Frankfurt on Thursday. Spot gold achieved an unprecedented high for the eighth consecutive session, as central bank purchases and rising geopolitical tensions lent support, experts note.
Trading activity faltered on Euronext Dublin, leading to a roughly 0.8 per cent drop in the Iseq All-Shares index, as Irish banking stocks succumbed to a recent reversal in fortune. Permanent TSB shares suffered a more than 3.7 per cent drop to €1.55 per share due to low trade volumes. Furthermore, AIB experienced a 1.4 per cent dip to €4.96 per share, and Bank of Ireland encountered a 1.2 per cent fall, ending at €9.84 per share.
If Simon Harris follows through on his promises regarding new homes, hundreds of new GPs and an additional 1,250 hospital beds will be necessitated. However, Dublin traders maintained that investor appeal in Irish banks remains robust, attributing the falls mainly to careful trading preceding the ECB meeting on Thursday.
Prominent Dublin index entities also registered a drop, with Ryanair experiencing a 1.4 per cent fall to €21.31 following a robust beginning to the week. Kingspan, a key insulation company, saw a 1.5 per cent drop to €83.30 per share. Concurrently, a 1.2 per cent increase in Kerry Group’s shares to €78.95 per share provided stability for the index, according to traders.
Across Europe, traders’ attention was focused on Frankfurt in anticipation of Thursday’s events. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index suffered a 0.6 per cent fall, and the Stoxx 50 blue-chip index saw a 0.7 per cent dip. Goldman’s defence shares index noted a 7.5 per cent plunge on Tuesday, marking the steepest fall since November 2022. The decline was also influenced by potential ceasefire talks in Gaza.
Top industry players including Swedish Saab and German Rheinmetall saw significant drops of 6.9 per cent and 9.8 per cent respectively. Additionally, Airbus saw a 3.4 per cent shrink to become the lowest of the blue-chip index, alongside luxury brands including Hermes, Ray-Bans creator EssilorLuxottica and Louis Vuitton owner LVMH, all experiencing a decline in that session.
On Tuesday, the performance of UK stocks was somewhat unsteady, with the FTSE 100 marginally decreasing by 0.1% at the end of trading, and the mid-sized cap FTSE 250 dropping approximately 0.4%.
As investors anxiously anticipate important inflation data from the US being released on Wednesday, shares in banks such as NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds experienced a decline in value, fluctuating from 0.8% to 2.2%. Significant defence companies including Rolls-Royce Group and BAE Systems witnessed a slight decrease in their share value.
In contrast, as the price of gold continues to escalate, this has resulted in metal and industrial miners trading higher. Outshining the rest was Fresnillo, whose shares surged 3.9%. Shares in Endeavour Mining, Antofagasta, Anglo American and Rio Tinto saw positive gains between 1.6% and 2.8%.
BP’s shares saw an increase of 1.8%, as the oil titan anticipates oil, gas, and low-carbon energy production in the first quarter to surpass the previous quarter. Financial services firm JTC saw a surge in its shares, up by as much as 5.3%, following a report of its yearly revenue increasing by 28.7%.
In New York, both the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly dipped in value at closing bell in Dublin, with only the Nasdaq Composite staying afloat.
Tech company Nvidia took the lead in the S&P’s losses, with a drop of more than 3%. Other heavyweight tech companies also faced a decline in share value, including Meta and Netflix, both decreasing over 1%.
The value of Treasuries increased as the 10-year yield fell from its peak in 2024. Ahead of Wednesday’s consumer price index, a generally relaxed atmosphere was noted.
Despite economic data from the US demonstrating strength and officials rejecting the necessity of easing, investors have been somewhat tempering their predictions regarding Fed reductions. Krishna Guha of Evercore suggests that the data on inflation for March and April will greatly influence the Fed’s decision to cut rates in June. He stated, “We believe the condition is not overwhelmingly stringent and chances are high that the data will be sufficiently strong to proceed.”