European markets rise but Wall Street struggles as investors await Fed speech

Europe’s main stock index climbed on Thursday, with healthcare and retail stocks leading the charge, while investors cheered growing prospects of interest rate cuts by big central banks and sifted through a wave of economic data globally.
The European Central Bank’s July meeting minutes showed policymakers saw no urgency in cutting rates but hinted at a fresh discussion in September due to growth concerns.
Focus now shifts to the Jackson Hole economic symposium in the US, where Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell is set to speak on Friday.
The Iseq slipped 0.3 per cent, having gained 0.3 per cent in the previous session. A drop of 2.9 per cent for Kingspan made the difference, with the building materials group closing at €78.05.
The other key stocks on the Dublin market made modest advances or were little changed, such as Ryanair, which closed at €14.86. AIB posted a 1 per cent gain, finishing at €5.30, while Bank of Ireland nudged up 0.1 per cent to €10.20.
Glenveagh Properties, meanwhile, rose 5.1 per cent to almost €1.44.
The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 ended little changed on Thursday, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 up 0.1 per cent and the mid-cap FTSE 250 index down 0.4 per cent.
Industrial metal miners led sectoral declines with a 1.5 per cent slip, while precious metal miners followed with a 1.1 per cent drop.
Both copper and gold prices eased as the dollar ticked up, taking sector heavyweights Glencore, Anglo American and Hochschild down between 1.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent.
JD Sports Fashion climbed 10.7 per cent after the company reported a 2.4 per cent rise in second-quarter underlying sales.
Shares of Hays rose 2.5 per cent after annual profit came in line with analysts’ consensus and the recruitment firm said it would make further cost cuts. Ithaca Energy slipped 5.5 per cent after the North Sea oil and gas company reported a lower first-half net profit.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.4 per cent higher, rising for the second day and closing at its highest level in this month.
Swiss pharmaceutical company Siegfried Holding advanced 7 per cent after better-than-expected first-half results, while Biomerieux rose nearly 6 per cent after analysts at UBS initiated coverage of the French biotechnology stock with a “buy”.
The healthcare sector hit a record high, also thanks to a 2.4 per cent rise in Europe’s most valuable company by market value, Novo Nordisk.
Deutsche Bank rose 4 per cent after announcing settlements with some plaintiffs in Postbank acquisition lawsuits.
Reinsurance company Swiss Re gained 4.5 per cent after results, while CTS Eventim surged 6 per cent after the German ticketing group raised its full-year earnings forecast. Danish hearing aid and audio solutions maker GN Store Nord dropped 9 per cent after second-quarter results miss.
Wall Street’s main indexes fell in volatile early trading, as rising Treasury yields pressured stocks in advance of Mr Powell’s speech at Jackson Hole.
[ Gold steadies above $2,500 ahead of Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speechOpens in new window ]
Meanwhile, the latest data showed the number of Americans filing new applications for unemployment benefits ticked up in the latest week. A separate reading showed a slowdown in overall US business activity this month.
Most mega-cap and growth stocks slipped. Tesla was leading the losses with a 3.2 per cent drop.
Data cloud analytics firm Snowflake raised its forecast for full-year product revenue but its shares fell 13.7 per cent, with analysts attributing the drop to the company not pairing the climb in revenue projections with a rise in margin forecast.
Zoom Video Communications added 12.2 per cent after raising its annual revenue forecast, while Advance Auto Parts slid 16.5 per cent after trimming its annual profit forecast.
– Additional reporting: Reuters