European shares reversed early losses on Wednesday but ultimately closed flat after Donald Trump’s address at Davos in which he cooled rhetoric on Greenland and tariffs.
Dublin
The Iseq All-Share index rebounded on Wednesday from contractions earlier in the week to gain 0.38 per cent, reaching 12,922.20.
Cairn Homes added 3.33 per cent to hit a share price of €2.17, the day after issuing a trading update for 2025. The home builder said it had seen “extraordinary” demand for housing and had 4,000 apartments under construction. Also in the sector, Glenveagh Properties lagged behind, but still added 0.6 per cent to hit €2.00.
Continuing to make headlines, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary saw his company’s shares advance 1.90 per cent, regaining share-price losses on Tuesday. Mr O’Leary is involved in an ongoing feud with Tesla owner Elon Musk and launched a “big idiots’” promotion on the back of the row. Mr O’Leary said it had produced a “wonderful boost” to sales.
The Iseq’s strong gains were trimmed, however, by a poor day for the banks. AIB and Bank of Ireland both ended in the red, losing 1.56 and 1.48 per cent respectively.
London
The FTSE 100 shrugged off a weak start to close slightly higher on Wednesday after US president Donald Trump said he would not use force to take control of Greenland, but insisted America must still have “ownership” of it.
Investors gained confidence from Mr Trump’s assurances and the FTSE 100 index closed 0.1 per cent higher at 10,138.09, while the FTSE 250 ended up 0.5 per cent at 23,071.29.
Luxury goods manufacturer Burberry rose 5.0 per cent after announcing an increase in comparable store sales over the festive period, while it expects its annual adjusted operating profit to be in line with analyst consensus estimates.
Miners were in demand with Rio Tinto up 5.2 per cent after a well-received fourth quarter production update. Glencore, which Rio is trying to buy, was up 3.7 per cent.
But pub chain JD Wetherspoon failed to cheer investors, with shares down 8.1 per cent, as it said higher costs were offsetting growth in sales.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 ended flat at 602.67 points after falling nearly 1 per cent earlier in the session.
Mr Trump’s tariff threats sparked a sell-off which saw the Stoxx impacted, down as much as 3 per cent at one point this week.
The index rebounded after tariff threats against Europe escaped mention at Davos, but gains in safe-haven precious metals were a reflection that caution still lingered.
Against that backdrop, mining stocks jumped 3.7 per cent, while chemicals gained 1.7 per cent.
Dairy giant Danone fell 8.4 per cent amid recall news while Bank of America flagged that China’s dropping birth rate could further shrink the French consumer company’s market there.
On the flip side, Rio Tinto gained 5.2 per cent after the miner beat expectations for quarterly iron ore and copper production.
New York
US stocks staged a sharp recovery on Wednesday after the steepest sell-off in three months, as investors took relief from Mr Trump signalling he would not use force in his push to acquire Greenland.
The bounce follows Tuesday’s rout, when all three major US indexes sank nearly 2 per cent after the US president warned new tariffs could hit European allies unless the US is allowed to buy Greenland. The CBOE Volatility index dropped from its mid-November highs touched in the previous session.
US megacaps, which were at the forefront of the sell-off, steadily gained. Nvidia and Alphabet benefited.
Meanwhile, Netflix dropped after the streaming giant paused share buy-backs to help fund the purchase of Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming businesses.
A burst of strong results from small and mid-sized lenders sent the regional banking index up to its highest since December 2024.
Among other earnings-driven moves, United Airlines rose after the carrier issued an upbeat outlook for the current quarter and the full year.
Johnson & Johnson dipped despite forecasting 2026 sales and profit ahead of Wall Street estimates. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA