The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq opened higher on Wall Street today as investors parsed a fresh round of mega-cap earnings.
The Dow Jones fell 305 points (0.62%) to trade at 49,106, the S&P 500 gained 14 points (0.2%) to stand at 6,964 and the Nasdaq Composite index added 112 points (0.48%) to reach 23,714.
European markets were mostly higher this afternoon with gains supported by a raft of positive corporate updates that eased investors' concerns over recent trade tensions.
London's FTSE index had gained 61 points (0.6%) to stand at 10,210 by 2.40pm, while the Paris CAC rose 31 points (0.4%) to trade at 8,163 but the Frankfurt DAX dipped five points (0.02%) to reach 24,928.
Dublin's ISEQ index had climbed 77 points (0.6%) to hit 13,006 this afternoon. Shares in Uniphar jumped 9.4% to trade at €3.93 after it issued a positive end of year trading update earlier this morning. Shares in Bank of Ireland had gained 2.6% to stand at €17.09, while AIB was up 1.8% to reach €9.34 and Glenveagh Properties rose 0.9% to hit €1.99.
Earlier in Asian trade, Tokyo's Nikkei climbed 448 points (0.8%) to finish at 53,333 as technology stocks extended their advance after the yen lost some gains. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 361 points (1.3%) to close at 27,127 as investor sentiment was buoyed by government data showing industrial profits in China increased last year for the first time since 2021.
