Values slip after early trading gains

EUROPEAN STOCKS were little changed at the close of trading yesterday, after the positive momentum of the morning was offset by weakness in the afternoon.

Stocks gained in early trading after the European Central Bank allotted more funds than projected under its long-term refinancing operation.

However, the failure of US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke to signal the advent of further monetary easing in his testimony to Congress resulted in the erasure of those early gains.

DUBLIN

BUOYED BY the strong performance of major stock CRH, the Iseq index outperformed the major indices in London, Frankfurt and Paris, bucking the negative trend by closing up 0.85 per cent.

The Iseq heavyweight, which closed up 1.6 per cent at €16.04, was not the only decent performer on the index, however.

Food group Glanbia published full-year results that were ahead of expectations, helping its stock to “a stellar performance” on the market yesterday, according to one Dublin dealer. The stock closed up 5.3 per cent at €5.60.

There was some buying interest in paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa towards the end of the day, which pushed it up to a closing price €7.65, up 2.7 per cent.

Drinks group C&C was also strong at the finish, closing at €3.67, up 1.5 per cent on the day.

LONDON

THE BLUE-chip FTSE 100 index finished down almost 1 per cent, as bearish sentiment following Mr Bernanke’s damp-squib of a statement led to a late sell-off. Stocks closed well off its intra-day high of 5,955.75.

Mining stocks, whose share prices are closely allied to the fortunes of the global economy, took a pounding. Exacerbating these falls, heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both traded ex-dividend, meaning sellers rather than buyers pocket the declared dividends.

Media group ITV was the top climber, with the stock jumping 6.8 per cent – the most in a year – after the broadcaster’s full-year earnings easily beat expectations, helped by growth in its own productions.

However, British Sky Broadcasting Group lost 2.3 per cent to 670p after its chairman James Murdoch stepped down as executive chairman of News Corp’s UK publishing News International unit.

Shares in British Airways owner IAG climbed 0.6 per cent after it reported a rise in full-year profit, helped by higher-than-expected savings from the BA-Iberia merger, but warned cost pressures would hit profit in 2012.

Engineer Weir Group, meanwhile, shed 4.5 per cent, the second-heaviest blue-chip faller, after it published full-year numbers. The company’s results beat forecasts with a 34 per cent surge in profit, but analysts pointed to weaker margins in future.

The heaviest faller on the index was Essar Energy, down 7.5 per cent, as Credit Suisse cut its rating to “neutral” from “outperform” on short-term financing concerns.

EUROPE

NATIONAL benchmark indexes declined in 10 of the 18 western-European markets, with Germany’s DAX falling 0.5 per cent and France’s CAC little changed.

Banks ended in negative territory, having earlier notched solid gains after the ECB allotted €530 billion in its second offering of cheap three-year funds to financial institutions, slightly above forecasts. Banks borrowed €489 billion in the first three-year operation in December.

Hochtief shares had their biggest decline in a month after the company suspended its dividend payout, while Holcim, the world’s second-biggest cement maker, climbed as sales and earnings topped forecasts.

US

STOCKS IN New York inched lower in choppy early trading yesterday after Mr Bernanke’s comments were viewed as a subtle shift in the central bank’s accommodative monetary policy.

Indexes appeared poised to advance for the fifth straight session on stronger-than-expected economic data before quickly reversing course as Mr Bernanke began his testimony to the US House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

His comments pushed the dollar up 0.4 per cent against a basket of major currencies and sent materials lower.

The Dow industrials and the SP 500 initially added to the previous day’s gains that catapulted them to four-year highs. Analysts warned that the year’s rally had come on light volume, and hitting new highs could spark selling on technical triggers.

Energy stocks also lost ground after data showed a build-up in crude inventories and US light crude oil futures fell for a third consecutive session.

Seemingly impervious to the macro-economic ebb and flow, Apple topped the $500 billion mark in market capitalisation for the first time, rising 1.6 per cent in early session trading. – (Additional reporting: Bloomberg/ Reuters)