Tech stocks tumbled on Wall Street as renewed fears about AI backers’ debts gripped investors, while European markets had a more mixed day.
Dublin
Insulation and building materials group Kingspan fell 1.86 per cent to €73.95.
Dealers noted that rivals such as Denmark’s Rockwool also slipped on Wednesday while building materials shares struggled.
Origin climbed 3.99 per cent to €4.17. In the same industry, ingredients and convenience foods group Kerry edged up 0.6 per cent to €76.60 following after its shares slipped last week.
Bank of Ireland advanced 1.19 per cent to €16.22. AIB edged up 0.2 per cent to €9.05 and Permanent TSB shed 0.3 per cent to €2.89.
Traders said the Irish market was busier than expected on Wednesday.
London
Irish building materials giant CRH shed 3.2 per cent to close at 9,184 pence sterling as investors turned against its industry on Wednesday.
The stock fell sharply towards the end of the day. Dealers noted that was around 2.5 per cent down in New York, where the Irish company has its main listing.
UK stocks closed higher on Wednesday, led by gains in home builders and bank shares, as lower-than-expected domestic inflation reinforced expectations that the Bank of England will cut interest rates.
Irish-based DCC, a holding company for several energy supply businesses, shed 3.6 per cent to close at 4,924p.
On the FTSE 250, Government services business Serco climbed 7.4 per cent after upgrading guidance for underlying operating profit for this year, citing growth in the defence sector.
Europe
Automakers slid despite an EU shift in emissions targets meant to aid the industry.
Shares in Volkswagen AG, the continent’s biggest carmaker, and Fiat and Peugeot owner, Stellantis, fell Wednesday, giving up some earlier gains in the run up to the EU setting out its proposals.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Automobiles & Parts Index declined as much as 1.3 per cent.
Elsewhere, shares in Italian cement maker Buzzi slipped almost 3.6 per cent to €51.35, while German rival Heidelberg fell at the same rate to €215.60.
Dealers said investors swerved the building materials industry.
Europe’s Stoxx 600 advanced early in the day but slipped back again to close slightly down.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq at three-week lows on the back of declines in heavyweight technology stocks as investors weighed a report on funding hurdles for Oracle’s data centre plans.
Oracle fell 5 per cent after a report said the cloud company’s largest data centre partner Blue Owl Capital said it will not back a $10 billion deal for its next facility.
Worries about the broader technology sector turning to debt in trying to achieve its artificial intelligence goals have plagued risk-taking multiple times this quarter.
At 16:39 Irish time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 105.49 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 48,008.04, the S&P 500 lost 53.59 points, or 0.79 per cent, to 6,746.67 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 292.03 points, or 1.26 per cent, to 22,816.43.
Six of the 11 big S&P subsectors were trading lower, with technology down 1.9%. The benchmark index is on track for its fourth-straight session of declines.
Netflix’s shares rose 1.2 per cent while Paramount and Warner Bros were down 4.9 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively.
Energy stocks such as ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum gained over 2 per cent each, tracking a 2 per cent jump in crude prices as US President Donald Trump ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving Venezuela. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Press Association, Reuters