Stocks dip as markets await interest rate decisions – The Irish Times

Ian Curran

World stocks declined as traders awaited key central bank decisions in a week that will largely determine the course of markets over the coming months.

Dublin

The Iseq index finished the day down by 1.6 per cent as banks lost some recent momentum and construction stocks declined.

Bank of Ireland shed 2.4 per cent, falling to €13.22 per share, while AIB fell by almost 2 per cent to close at €7.45.

Ryanair dipped 1.8 per cent to €23.60.

Construction stocks continued to lose ground with Cairn Homes down by more than 3 per cent to €1.98 per share, while insulation giant Kingspan fell by 1.7 per cent.

Glenveagh Properties, meanwhile, bucked the trend, advancing 0.3 per cent to €1.93.

Irish Ferries owner Irish Continental Group was one of the other few names to finish in green, moving 1 per cent higher to €5.84 per share.

London

British stocks fell with investors remaining cautious in advance of the Bank of England’s monetary policy decision this week. The central bank is expected to hold interest rates steady this week after cutting in August.

The benchmark FTSE 100 index dipped 0.9 per cent while the mid-cap FTSE 250 fell 0.7 per cent.

Haleon dropped to the bottom of the FTSE 100 with a 4.8 per cent fall after JPMorgan downgraded the consumer healthcare group’s rating to “equal weight” from “overweight.”

Budget airline EasyJet fell 2 per cent after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to “neutral” from “overweight” and placed it on negative catalyst watch.

With gold prices reaching record highs, precious metal miners saw the biggest sectoral gains, with gold miner Fresnillo the top gainer, adding 2.1 per cent.

Europe

European shares faltered, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 falling 1.1 per cent while the blue-chip Stoxx 50 fell by 1.2 per cent.

Luxury stocks rose as Gucci-owner Kering advanced by more than 3 per cent, while Ray-Ban maker EssilorLuxottica jumped 1.5 per cent and LVMH added 0.7 per cent.

French luxury stocks have come under greater focus after the death of designer Giorgio Armani, who included directions on the possible sale of his fashion house in his will, giving priority to LVMH, L’Oreal and EssilorLuxottica.

Cosmetics giant L’Oreal, meanwhile, shed 2.9 per cent after Jefferies downgraded the cosmetics giant to “underperform” from “hold” earlier.

French lender BNP Paribas dropped 1.4 per cent in choppy trading after the bank extended its guidance to 2028.

New York

Wall Street’s main indices were down slightly as traders geared up for the US Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting beginning Wednesday, which is widely expected to signal the start of an interest rate-cutting cycle.

The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 were down by around 0.1 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by 0.4 per cent.

Losses in UnitedHealth and Microsoft weighed heavily on the Dow.

Meanwhile, eight of the 11 S&P 500 subsectors were lower. An 8 per cent fall in Warner Bros Discovery dragged down the Communication services sector.

Conversely, energy stocks advanced 0.9 per cent, tracking higher oil prices, while gains in Tesla and Amazon lifted the consumer discretionary sector.

Webtoon Entertainment soared 28 per cent after the online comics platform and Disney agreed to create a new digital comics platform to feature comic content from Disney’s portfolio, including Marvel and Star Wars.

“Today is more of a sideways move than anything else,” Mark Hackett, chief market strategist at Nationwide, told Reuters. – Additional Reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg