European stock markets drop back after weak company earnings

• Published date: 25 April 2024
• Author: Laura Slattery
• Publication title: Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland)

After signs of recovery earlier this week the benchmark Stoxx 600 index hit a volatile patch as investors assessed the impact of record-high interest rates on corporate performance, while staying confident of a European Central Bank rate cut in June

Dublin

The Iseq closed down 0.5 per cent in line with the subdued performance across Europe as several key stocks remained under pressure. Ryanair, which shed 1.9 per cent in Wednesday's session, declined almost 1.7 per cent to finish at €20.16.

Otherwise there were few big movers. Bank of Ireland was the main climber, advancing 0.8 per cent to €10.36. Packaging group Smurfit Kappa dropped 0.5 per cent to €39.83, while building materials group Kingspan edged down 0.2 per cent to €82.50.

London

The FTSE 100 stock index scored its third consecutive record high on Thursday, led by miner Anglo American on a buyout offer from BHP Group, while investors cheered earnings from several blue-chip firms including Unilever, AstraZeneca and Barclays.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 ended the session up 0.5 per cent, after hitting a fresh all-time high of 8,105.59 points earlier in the day.

Anglo American surged 16.1 per cent to an more than 10-month high after BHP made an offer to buy the London-listed miner, valuing its share capital at $38.8 billion. The deal would create the world's biggest copper miner with around 10 per cent of global output. BHP's London-listed stock, however, fell 2.2 per cent.

The pharma and biotech index was the top sectoral performer, rising 3.9 per cent, led by a 5.9 per cent jump in AstraZeneca shares after the drugmaker reported quarterly revenue and profit above market estimates.

Unilever rose 5.7 per cent after the consumer goods company posted better-than-expected first-quarter sales growth.

Barclays climbed 6.7 per cent as the lender's first-quarter trading was better than expected despite a 12 per cent fall in profit.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.6 per cent, with WH Smith sliding 6 per cent after the British high street and travel hub retailer flagged lower growth at start of the second half.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.7 per cent lower after shedding as much as 1.3...