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Irish index ends week 1.5% higher
European stocks rebounded on Friday, after a bond-driven sell-off, as retreating oil prices and softer-than-expected US jobs data eased expectations for near-term rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
Oil prices fell 2 per cent after a sharp rise a day earlier following reports of talks in Europe on additional diesel and crude stock releases, easing concerns over tight global energy supplies. Dublin The Irish index of shares ended the week 1.5 per cent higher, tracking a wider rebound across Europe. Shares in Glanbia were up 1.66 per cent on Friday, but the rebound wasn’t enough to wipe out yesterday’s rout.
The shares suffered a weekly loss of 4.4 per cent at €18.97. Food group Kerry rose 2.4 per cent over the session, but ended the week almost flat. Insulation specialist Kingspan finished Friday almost 3 per cent higher, with a weekly gain of more than 4 per cent. Airline Ryanair also bounced back, gaining 3.5 per cent over the session to end the week 2.3 per cent higher.
Banking shares were mixed, with AIB down 0.45 per cent and Bank of Ireland rising almost 0.3 per cent. London The UK’s FTSE 100 saw its steepest weekly drop since April on Friday, hurt by a sell-off in government bonds that pushed yields higher and dented risk appetite. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.32 per cent higher on the day at 10,461.95 points, but fell 2.2 per cent for the week.
The midcap FTSE 250 also ended the week marginally lower, at 24,194.24. Banks continued to remain under pressure, with the index of UK lenders suffering its biggest weekly drop since April Among stocks, IG Group tumbled 22.6 per cent after the online trading platform cut its 2026 revenue growth forecast, citing weak market conditions.
Pub chain J D Wetherspoon climbed 12.5 per cent after reporting stronger sales growth since July, aided by sunny weather, while warning of rising costs and closures. Europe The pan-European STOXX 600 closed 0.8 per cent higher, after touching its lowest in more than three months on Thursday. Despite gains in the session, the STOXX 600 posted weekly declines. Most sectors ended in positive territory on Friday, with renewed AI enthusiasm putting technology stocks in the lead.
AT & S Austria Technologies & Systemtechnik gained 10 per cent, Infineon Technologies was up about 9 per cent, while Aixtron and Soitec added 7.6 per cent each. European banking stocks were little changed on Friday but registered their biggest weekly fall since April, hurt by concerns about higher interest rates denting the economy.
Among stocks, London’s IG Group slid 22.6 per cent to the bottom of the STOXX 600 after the online trading firm cut its annual revenue forecast due to subdued trading volatility. New York US stocks rose on Friday, pushing the Nasdaq Composite to a record high, after weaker-than-expected jobs data further reduced odds of a near-term rate hike.
Nvidia touched intraday record high, up 1.9 per cent, while Musk-led SpaceX added 6.2 per cent, Tesla gained 5.5 per cent, while Oracle rose 2.4 per cent. In morning trading the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 182.27 points, or 0.36 per cent, to 51,108.83, the S&P 500 gained 52.69 points, or 0.69 per cent, to 7,719.22 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 309.80 points, or 1.15 per cent, to 27,181.39.
Nike fell 5.6 per cent on Friday after the US sportswear company forecast a surprise steep drop in annual revenue due to weakness in China, announced job cuts and decided to shake up its global business divisions. Among other equities, shares of data storage providers Western Digital and Seagate Technology fell around 14 per cent each after Nikkei reported that Japanese technology group Toshiba plans to double its production capacity for hard disk drives used in AI data centres within fiscal 2027. – Additional reporting: Reuters
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