Britain's FTSE 100 closed at a record high on Friday, capping a strong week for London equities, as financial stocks gained following upbeat results from NatWest and signs of cooling inflation pressures in the United States.
The FTSE index was up 67 points (0.7%) to 9,645, while the CAC in Paris was down slightly to 8,226 and the DAX in Frankfurt was up 32 points (0.13%) to 24,239.
Dublin's ISEQ index was up 164 points (1.42%) to 11,768. Shares in Kingspan were up 2.4% to €70.40, while shares in Origin Enterprises were up 2.37% to €3.88. Meanwhile, shares in Glanbia were down 0.33% to €14.90.
Wall Street cruised to record highs on Friday, buoyed by cooler inflation data that strengthened expectations of faster rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while Intel's upbeat earnings kept momentum in AI-related stocks alive. By 5.40pm Irish time, the Dow Jones was up 554 points (1.19%) to 47,289, while the S&P 500 was up 66 points (0.98%) to 6,804 and the Nasdaq was up 291 points (1.27%) to 23,233.
