European shares hit record as AI optimism returns

European stocks set a fresh record on Wednesday, buoyed by rebounding energy and tech shares.

The performance came following upbeat forecasts from Siemens Energy, while investor confidence in artificial intelligence showed signs of returning after positive results at US-based AI cloud computing firm CoreWeave.

The neocloud company saw its shares rally by more than 25 per cent in early trading, which left it on track for its best day of trading since June.

Dublin

The Iseq All-Share Index rose marginally by 0.6 per cent to close at 15,035.08 on Wednesday.

Kingspan, which forecast a spike in 2026 trading profit earlier this week, saw its share price rise to €99 on Tuesday before it fell back to a low of around €92 per share on Tuesday. On Wednesday, it was one of the biggest gainers of the day, as its stock rose to €98.70, up 1.44 per cent since open.

Greencoat Renewables, which last week reported a €11.9 million profit for the first half of the year, was the biggest riser of the day as it added 2.1 per cent to close at €0.82. Kerry Group also registered a gain of near 2 per cent, as its price rose to €99.25.

Iseq-heavyweight Ryanair traded down nearly 2.5 per cent to €26 per share. Last week, the firm reported higher revenues, but profits were lower during the first half of its financial year to the end of September.

Insurance company FBD Holdings fell 2 per cent, while home builder Cairn Homes share price was down 3 per cent since open to €2.75.

London

The London stock market closed higher, with the FTSE 100 Index up almost 0.8 per cent at 10,835. The performance on Wednesday means the index is rising towards its record high.

Computer services company Computacenter, up by close to 3.9 per cent, was one of the top risers of the day, followed by investment group Polar Capital which gained 4.7 per cent.

Rising oil and metals prices also contributed to the gains of the day in London, with BP’s share price increased 2.7 per cent, while Shell rose 1.3 per cent.

Mining firms were also among the strong performers, as Antofagasta and Glencore were each up by more than 2 per cent

British media company ITV slipped 3.6 per cent after warning that fourth-quarter advertising revenue could decline by up to 10 per cent.

Europe

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index rose 0.7 per cent to close at 663.05 on Wednesday, surpassing its previous record closing high set in August.

Siemens Energy AG rose as much as 10 per cent after the company said profit margins will swell to as much as 22 per cent by 2030. It said the rise would be driven by booming demand for gas turbines and power-grid equipment.

Shares of its peers Schneider Electric and Legrand gained 3 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.

Elsewhere, Czech defence group CSG NV fell 21 per cent to an all-time low after the firm reported revenue that missed estimates and lowered its full-year profit margin outlook.

New York

In the past week, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was hit heavily as investors showed concern over what a Democratic sweep of Congress would mean for the AI sector.

On Wednesday, US stocks extended gains as the technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 briefly erased losses suffered in the aftermath of the US midterm elections.

In early afternoon trading in New York, the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.3 per cent, the S&P 500 was 1.5 per cent higher and the Nasdaq rose 2 per cent.

The gains on Wednesday have come following better-than-expected results from CoreWeave, excitement over Anthropic’s initial public offering (IPO) and a blockbuster quarter for OpenAI.

CoreWeave’s rise came after the cloud infrastructure firm announced better-than-anticipated revenue and a full-year outlook that came in stronger than Wall Street expected after the market closed on Tuesday.

Shares in Nvidia rose by almost 4 per cent after shedding about $430 billion (€387 billion) in the previous two sessions.

On Wednesday, the Financial Times reported the company’s board has hired former New York federal prosecutor Joon H Kim to conduct its internal probe into chief executive Jensen Huang’s alleged relationship with a woman the US intelligence believe was working as a spy for China.

Oil rebounded following two consecutive days of losses, with Brent rising back above $93 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate trading near $88 a barrel.