European shares posted a sharp weekly loss on Friday, as investors worried about risks to growth and inflation with energy supplies still severely disrupted by the conflict in the Middle East.
Iran’s foreign minister was due in Islamabad on Friday to discuss possible steps to restart US-Iran talks, Pakistani government sources said to Reuters.
Investors remained on edge as crude oil prices stayed above $100 (€85) a barrel, with uncertainty lingering over Strait of Hormuz.
Dublin
The Irish market ended lower on Friday, mirroring broader shifts among global equities.
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AIB dipped 0.3 per cent on the final day of the week, with the Bank of Ireland losing 1.3 per cent. Insurer FBD shed 1.5 per cent to end the week at €16.35.
Food groups also lost value over the session, with Glanbia down 0.9 per cent and Kerry Group losing 0.2 per cent.
Construction stocks fared better, with insulation specialist Kingspan gaining 0.7 per cent and Glenveagh and Cairn Homes both notching up gains.
In line with wider market shifts, Ryanair declined 2.3 per cent to close the week at €22.93.
London
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.8 per cent lower to 10,379.08 points. The benchmark index recorded its first weekly drop in five, erasing all gains since the US-Iran ceasefire announcement earlier this month. The midcap FTSE 250 slipped 0.8 per cent.
Higher oil prices pressured airlines’ shares, with Wizz Air dipping 3.3 per cent.
Heavyweight banks Barclays and HSBC fell 0.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively, while pharma giant AstraZeneca slipped 3.7 per cent, and peer GSK dropped 2.7 per cent, sending the pharma sector 3 per cent lower.
Retailers stocks rose 0.1 per cent, among the few gainers on the benchmark. Tech shares gained 1 per cent, with Computacenter surging 14.5 per cent after the technology and services provider said it would beat annual profit forecasts.
Mondi plunged 11.1 per cent, landing at the bottom of the FTSE 100 after the packaging company flagged rising costs due to the Iran war.
Europe
The pan-European STOXX 600 index edged down 0.6 per cent on the day, to 610.65, a more than two-week low. It logged a weekly decline of 2.5 per cent, snapping a four-week streak of gains.
Most regional markets also declined, with Spain’s benchmark index falling 1.1 per cent, while France’s was down 0.8 per cent.
Most sectors traded in the red, with aerospace and defence leading declines with a 3.2 per cent fall.
Technology stocks, however, gained 1.5 per cent, helped by a 4.7 per cent jump in SAP shares after the German software maker beat first-quarter profit estimates on strong growth in its cloud business.
Chip stocks advanced with BE Semiconductor Industries up 4.3 per cent, a day after reporting strong order intake and guidance. ASML and ASMI added about 2 per cent each.
Healthcare shares and financials lost 1.7 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively.
Novo Nordisk bucked the trend, adding 5.4 per cent after rival Eli Lilly’s obesity pill trialled prescriptions to Novo’s oral Wegovy.
Among other movers, Tomra tumbled 24 per cent after the Norwegian recycling technology provider missed first-quarter revenue and profit estimates.
New York
The S&P 500 climbed and the Nasdaq scaled an intraday record on Friday, supported by renewed hopes for US-Iran negotiations to end the war and a searing rally in Intel shares.
Semiconductors, one of the market’s key pockets of resilience, continued to shine. Intel, which hit a record high and was last up 23.4 per cent, was the biggest gainer on the index following a better-than-expected revenue forecast for the second quarter.
Rivals AMD and Arm also climbed over 15 per cent each. Nvidia rose 5 per cent and was set for a closing record.
At midday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 85.40 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 49,224.92, the S&P 500 gained 53.25 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 7,161.65 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 365.49 points, or 1.50 per cent, to 24,804.12. – Additional reporting: Reuters
