Marketing

Global technology stocks regain some ground



Global technology stocks regained some ground on Tuesday a day after a low-cost Chinese AI model rattled markets, while traders rotated back into the dollar from safe-haven currencies.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin finished the day up 0.8 per cent, with healthcare services group Uniphar the main story of the day.

The group, which is led by chief executive Ger Rabbette, climbed 12 per cent after it published a trading update that showed its business generated organic growth across all its divisions last year.

Uniphar said it performed in line with expectations for earnings per share. Organic gross profit rose more than 8 per cent, while adjusted earnings per share growth was 12 per cent.

Meanwhile, AIB was down 1 per cent following its first day of trading after Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe sold a 5 per cent stake in the bank late on Monday evening at €5.60 per share to stock market investors, representing a 2.2 per cent discount on where the stock closed in Dublin hours earlier. Bank of Ireland ended the day down 1.5 per cent.

Other movers included Ryanair, which climbed 0.6 per cent to build on a 3 per cent increase in its share price on Monday following quarterly results that showed it made a profit after tax of €149 million in the three months to the end of December.

Among the food names, Kerry Group finished the day up 3.6 per cent, while Glanbia was up 2.3 per cent.

London

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.3 per cent higher and logged its best day in over a week, as the global tech rout eased.

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The domestically focused FTSE 250 rose 1.1 per cent, and also logged its best day in over a week, snapping a four-day losing streak. The household goods and home construction sector was the top sector gainer, gaining 2.4 per cent.

Computacenter jumped 8.8 per cent after the technology and services provider reported its most profitable second half in its history.

The retail sector gained 2.3 per cent, lifted by a 5.4 per cent gain in Pets at Home Group after the company reported its third-quarter results.

Keeping gains in check, Industrial metal miners lost 1.6 per cent, falling to their lowest level in over two weeks as copper prices hit over a two-week low.

Europe

European tech stocks stabilised and the broad Stoxx 600 share benchmark hit a new intraday high, a sign of how strongly shares have been performing in recent weeks.

Germany’s Dax climbed 0.74 per cent to a fresh record high as it benefited from a rebound in Siemens Energy shares. The Cac 40 in Paris ended 0.12 per cent lower for the day.

Euro zone government bond yields rose, reversing Monday’s decline, with investors looking to the European Central Bank policy meeting later this week for more clues about the outlook for interest rates.

New York

The tech rebound boosted Wall Street’s main stock indices, with the S&P 500 up about 0.75 per cent and the Dow Jones Industrial Average about 0.3 per cent higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added about 1.7 per cent.

Nasdaq shares tumbled on Monday as chip giant Nvidia dived 17 per cent, losing nearly $593 billion of its value in the biggest one-day market capitalisation loss in history.

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Behind the rout was the emergence of a low-cost Chinese artificial intelligence model, DeepSeek, which made investors question the dominance of AI bellwethers and their suppliers.

Nvidia shares gained 6 per cent on Tuesday, with Apple up nearly 4 per cent.

Tuesday’s earnings highlights included Boeing, whose shares rose about 4% even after the plane maker reported its biggest annual loss since 2020.

Shares in General Motors meanwhile fell more than 9% as investors weighed the threat of tariffs even as the carmaker posted results and an earnings forecast ahead of expectations. – Additional reporting: Agencies

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