A Christmas tree outside the New York Stock Exchange . Investors anticipate that the Federal Reserve will cut rates this month. Photograph: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Bank of Ireland advanced 2.5 per cent to €8.95, though AIB went the other direction, slipping 0.5 per cent to €5.38.Tips for avoiding a January credit-card hangoverFood group Kerry posted a climb of 0.8 per cent, closing at €90.05, but Ryanair edged down 0.1 per cent to €19.28. Kainos Group was a top gainer on the mid-cap index, soaring 4.5 per cent, after Northern Ireland’s biggest IT firm reappointed Brendan Mooney as chief executive.The pan-European Stoxx 600 index had slipped earlier in the day, but settled higher by 0.3 per cent after US data showed the Consumer Price Index rose as expected in November on both a monthly and annual basis.
Spain’s main index hit a one-week low and the broader Stoxx retail index dropped 1.8 per cent and notched its biggest percentage drop in more than a month. Most mega-cap and growth stocks were higher, with Alphabet up 4.6 per cent and Tesla gaining 3.1 per cent. Both hit all-time highs on an intraday basis.