Wall Street's main indexes were mixed at the open today as investors treaded carefully ahead of several Big Tech earnings reports and a Federal Reserve meeting expected to be the last for Jerome Powell as its Chair.
The Dow Jones rose 22 points (0.04%) at the open to stand at 49,164, while the S&P 500 fell seven points (0.1%) to trade at 7,131 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 57 points (0.23%) to reach 24,606.
Most European shares continued to fall this afternoon as investors digested a packed day of corporate earnings, while a continuing US-Iran impasse also kept risk sentiment in check.
London's FTSE index had dropped 90 points (0.8%) to stand at 10,242 by 2.40pm, while the Paris CAC was down 23 points (0.3%) to trade at 8,081 and the Frankfurt DAX lost 52 points (0.2%) to reach 23,967.
But boosted by a surge in Glanbia shares, Dublin's ISEQ index had jumped 144 points (1.2%) to hit 12,431 this afternoon. Shares in Glanbia soared 9.7% to trade at €19.23 after it said it now expects adjusted EPS growth this year to be at the upper end of its medium-term guidance range of 7% to 11%. Shares in Kingspan rose 1.6% to stand at €79.25, while AIB was up 1.4% to reach €9.75 and Glenveagh Properties gained 1.2% to hit €2.08.
Earlier in Asian trade, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 432 points (1.7%) to finish at 26,112 as worries about the Iran conflict and health of the AI sector eased, optimism over corporate earnings grew, and attention turned to the Federal Reserve's decision later tonight.
Markets in Japan are closed for a national holiday today.
