AI boom and simmering oil prices boost global stocks, but Brazil election knocks some back

Global stocks grew steadily Monday, as the artificial intelligence (AI) boom on Wall Street bolstered the New York stock market and simmering oil prices gave US investors renewed confidence in the energy industry.

Elsewhere, responses to the re-election of the left-wing presidential incumbent in Brazil knocked many Spanish and Portuguese companies back, as traders hedge their bets on the economic future of the growing superpower.

Dublin

The Iseq All-Share index ended the opening day of trading in the green, growing 1.54 per cent to 14,153.02 by close of markets Monday, with only two listed companies falling in share value.

Housebuilders Glenveagh Properties dipped 0.21 per cent at €2.42 a share, while insurance company FBD Holdings fell 0.78 per cent to close at €19.10. Mining company Kenmare Resources and ferry-operator Irish Continental Group saw no change in their share prices.

Ryanair’s stock took off, up 2.04 per cent to close at €22.99, while the banking sector saw steady growth as well: Bank of Ireland rising 1.79 per cent at €18.24 and AIB following suit, growing 1.34 per cent to €10.96 a share.

Nutrition firm Origins increased 6.44 per cent in stock price, ending the day at €4.30 a share, and building materials specialist Kingspan seeing steady growth of 3.02 per cent to €92.05 by close.

London

The London Stock Exchange began the trading week on a positive note, in part thanks to strong returns from the city’s financial services sector. The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.69 per cent by close, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index jumped 1.06 per cent.

Lloyds bank saw its share price increase 1.84 per cent, following on a similarly steading trading week last week, while its industry rival Barclays did one better, up 2.89 per cent by close, as investors noted the Bank of England signalled higher interest rates could soon come into play.

British oil and gas giant BP dropped 1.21 per cent, while C&C – the drinks groups with Asahi and Bulmers in its portfolio – also fell, closing the day 1.54 per cent down.

Europe

Elsewhere in Europe, stocks across the Continent saw steady growth as the trading week began, although the results of the Brazilian presidential election ricocheted across national economies on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

Shares in Santander bank slid 3.24 per cent downwards by close of markets as the Spanish financial institution, whose primary subsidiary outside of Europe is located in Brazil, reckoned with the re-election of left-wing Lula da Silva over far-right Jair Bolsonaro.

Meanwhile, Portuguese energy provider Galp Energia suffered larger losses, with its share price plummeting 10.84 per cent, in some part due to the uncertainty of its linguistic neighbour, but also the collapse of merger talks with Madrid-based energy company Moeve.

France’s luxury industry somewhat recuperated last week’s declines, as Hermès grew its share price 3.31 per cent by close, following a poor week of trading due to lower-than-expected financial results being published.

New York

Early trades on Wall Street were bolstered by renewed confidence from investors in AI stock and brief respite from soaring oil prices.

Before midday New York time, the Nasdaq 100 index jumped some 1.25 per cent, while the S&P 500 hovered about 0.75 per cent up from Friday’s close of market price point and the Dow Jones Industrial Average trailed behind, rising 0.20 per cent or so.

As US officials and representatives from their allies in the Middle East traveled to Iran in a bid to defuse rising tensions, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil (the industry benchmark) fell below $115, having soared last week to levels not seen since May.

Anthropic, the AI programmers behind the Claude chatbot, released its prospectus earlier in the day, detailing the exponential growth that has led it to a $965 billion valuation in its latest private funding round in May. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg.