Shares traded in Dublin proved a safer bet than those in London and across Europe on Wednesday, as the Iseq benchmark outperformed both British FTSE indices and European Stoxx.

Across the globe, shares in oil companies remained steady as war in the Middle East seemed to cool a little following days of air strikes in the Strait of Hormuz.

Dublin

The Iseq Overall Index was in the green at the end of trading hours, increasing 0.74 per cent to close at 14,245.22 on Wednesday, in part thanks to strong gains from housebuilders Cairn Homes and bank AIB.

Cairn Homes saw its share price jump 2.28 per cent to close at €2.69 a share, with AIB following along with a 1.59 per increase in its stock, closing at €10.94. Elsewhere in the banking sector, Bank of Ireland’s share price rose 1.25 per cent to close at €19.20 a share.

Ferry operator Irish Continental Group saw its share price increase 1.39 per cent to close at €7.30 a share, meanwhile airline Ryanair’s stock jumped 1.08 per cent to close at €22.42.

Insulation builders Kingspan, however, fell into the red, dropping 0.69 per cent in share price to close at €100.60, as did agri-services firm Origin, down 1.22 per cent to €4.44 a share.

London

The London stock market ended the trading day in the red, with the blue-chip FTSE 100 dipping 0.30 per cent and the mid-cap FTSE 250 falling 0.80 per cent at close of markets as weak returns in financial services dragged down otherwise solid shares in energy companies.

On the FTSE 100 index, two of the largest banks on the exchange both saw their share price fall, with Lloyds Banking group dipping 0.09 per cent by close and Barclays by 0.55 per cent. Telecommunications giant Vodafone saw no change in its share price.

Meanwhile, shares in oil companies BP and Shell rose 0.22 per cent and 0.31 per cent, respectively.

On the FTSE 250 index, luxury car brand Aston Martin saw its share price jump 3.46 per cent at close, the day after its affiliate Formula One team announced a new high-profile director of performance.

Europe

Elsewhere in Europe, stocks across the Continent shared a similar fate as their UK neighbours, following a poor showing from the motor industry that not even surges in shares for household brands could bring back into the positive.

The blue-chip Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 0.10 per cent, while the mid-cap Stoxx 600 0.24 per cent. German car giant Volkswagen saw its share price drop 3.76 per cent, making it the Stoxx 50’s largest drop of the day, as investor confidence in the company plummets.

It was announced yesterday that it will lose its place on the Stoxx 50, being bumped off by Finnish telecommunications company Nokia.

On the Stoxx 600 index, French car company Renault had a similarly bad day, with its share price falling 4.55 per cent to close as it continues to struggle to keep up with its competitors, namely those from China.

The motor manufacturer’s skincare compatriot, L’Oréal, saw its share price increase 1.46 per cent to close, as did German athleisure brand Adidas, by 1.08 per cent.

New York

During early trading on Wall Street, many investors’ concerns about rising inflation were somewhat eased following a pullback in oil prices after a two-day surge triggered by renewed violence between the US and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Despite an otherwise rocky outlook, the city’s main indices all made gains before midday in New York, with the S&P 500 index up some 0.50 per cent, as was the Dow Jones Industrial Average, with the Nasdaq 100 benchmark up around 0.20 per cent.

Shares in computer manufacturer and technology solutions provider Dell jumped before midday New York time after the company boosted its annual sales forecast by $25 billion, which many traders saw as a further sign of surging demand for servers to run artificial intelligence tasks. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg.