Food groups Kerry and Glanbia also declined, with Kerry down 0.3 per cent at €85.82 and Glanbia losing about 2.5 per cent to close at €11.16.The blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index added 0.6 per cent, as earnings season kicked in. Investment firm 3i Group soared 9.2 per cent to hit a record high on an upbeat third-quarter performance update, lifting the investment banking sector by 3.6 per cent.
Wizz Air fell 7.2 per cent from eight-month highs hit in the prior session, after the Hungarian budget airline was upbeat on summer demand for travel but more cautious than its competitors. STMicroelectronics shares jumped 8.2 per cent after the chipmaker beat fourth-quarter sales and earnings expectations, boosting the wider technology sector.
Along with corporate earnings, the market focus is now on upcoming interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank next week. The ECB is widely expected to hike rates by 50 basis points next week, with policymakers backing the case for interest rates to keep rising further in order to bring inflation down to the central bank’s target.