A rally in the world’s largest tech companies lifted stocks at the start of the first full trading week in 2025. The dollar trimmed losses as President-elect Donald Trump said his tariff plan won’t be pared back.
Dublin
The Iseq finished up 0.45 per cent on Monday, closing at 9,708.49. AIB rose 2.18 per cent to €5.39, Bank of Ireland was up 2.17 per cent to €8.83 and Permanent TSB dropped 2.10 per cent to €1.40. Irish Continental Group fell 1.53 per cent to €5.16 as the Holyhead port closure continues.
Property developers Cairn Homes rose 1.30 per cent to €2.34 while Glenveagh Properties rose 0.37 per cent to €1.63 a share. Food group Kerry dropped 0.54 per cent to €92.95.
London
The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent, joining a broad rally in European stocks after a report hinted at measured tariffs under a Donald Trump presidency, while ratings downgrades weighed on heavyweights Rolls-Royce and Unilever.
Trump’s aides are exploring tariff plans that would be applied to every country but would only cover critical imports, the Washington Post reported. However, Trump denied the report, saying it incorrectly said his tariffs would be pared back.
“Today’s bounce is a reminder to investors that they are now living in a Trump-dominated world. Once the new president is installed on January 20th, we can expect a lot more days like today,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
Weighing on the index, Unilever dropped 2.5 per cent after RBC downgraded the consumer goods group to “underperform” from “sector perform,” while Rolls-Royce fell 2.6 per cent after Citigroup downgraded its rating on the engineering company to “neutral” from “buy”.
The FTSE 100 rose nearly 6 per cent in 2024, its fourth successive yearly advance, as the mood was improved by two interest rate cuts by the Bank of England during the year.
Europe
European markets closed higher on Monday, as, like in the UK, hopes rose that Trump tariffs may be less dramatic than feared.
Europe’s premier index, Stoxx 600, closed up 0.9 per cent, at its highest level in more than two weeks.
Major bourses across the region jumped, with France’s Cac 40 up 2.2 per cent, Germany’s Dax up 1.5 per cent, and Spain’s Ibex 35 up 1.3 per cent.
The auto sector surged nearly 3 per cent, marking its best performance in over a year.
Luxury brands with strong ties to China also rode the wave of optimism, with LVMH, Hermes, Kering and Richemont rising between 2.4 per cent and 4.5 per cent.
Meanwhile, the technology sector advanced 3.9 per cent, led by ASML, ASMI and STMicroelectronics.
These companies were buoyed by Microsoft’s announcement of a substantial $80 billion investment in data centres for AI model training by 2025.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes rose on Monday to one-week highs as optimism around AI boosted semiconductor stocks.
Tech group Nvidia jumped 5 per cent towards a record ahead of a speech from chief Jensen Huang.
Automakers rose, with Ford up 1.6 per cent and General Motors gaining 4 per cent after the report that tariffs could be lighter than had been feared.
Automobile manufacturers are considered the most vulnerable to tariffs imposed on trade partners of the U.S., given their vast supply chains.
In the lead-up to Trump’s inauguration on January 20th, investors are seeking insights into his policies, which are broadly seen as beneficial for corporate America as well as the U.S. economy.
The Russell 2000 index, tracking domestically focused small-cap companies, rose 0.9 per cent. Additional reporting: agencies
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