Tech-heavy indexes fall globally as investors offload chip stocks

Tech-heavy equity indexes around the world ‌fell on Thursday as investors offloaded chip stocks, while oil futures gave up earlier gains even as the US and Iran stepped up attacks.

Wall Street declines driven by the weakness in chip stocks had a knock-on effect on the Irish markets, although consumer staples bolstered London’s FTSE 100 to finish the day on a 0.5 per cent rise.

Dublin

The Iseq All-Share Index fell by 0.27 per cent on Thursday to 13,833.28 as shares dropped for several players in the Irish markets.

After a strong day on Wednesday, Ryanair fell by 1 per cent, with shares at €26.64 at close of business.

Also feeling the pressure was Irish Continental Group, down 3.34 per cent at the end of the day.

AIB and Bank of Ireland recorded similar declines of 0.57 and 0.56 per cent respectively, while PTSB saw a marginal rise of 0.67 per cent to €3.01.

Defying the trend was Kerry Group, which rose by 2.05 per cent and closed the day at €84.55.

London

London’s FTSE 100 ended higher on Thursday, in contrast to weakness in technology ​shares globally, with consumer staples shares among top gainers, though risk appetite remained in check amid escalating tensions between the US and Iran.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.5 per cent higher at 10,572.2 points, while the midcap FTSE ​250 also climbed 0.5 per cent.

Beverages added 2.4 per cent, while retailers and personal goods climbed 1.9 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

Pharma and biotech rose ⁠1.2 per cent with drugmaker GSK up 2.1 per cent and AstraZeneca up 0.5 per cent.

Rotork jumped 66.8 per cent after Swiss engineering group ABB announced a $5.5 billion takeover of the British automation company.

Ocado tumbled 10.4 per cent to a 13-year low after the British online grocery and technology group failed ‌to show tangible progress in ⁠talks to secure new US partners to boost its business to compete effectively with rapid delivery firms.

Frasers Group fell 1.9 per cent after the British retailer declined ‌to provide a fiscal 2027 outlook.

Europe

European ‌stocks posted slim gains for the third straight session on Thursday, as caution over the Middle East war kept markets in a tight range ​despite strong earnings. The pan-European STOXX 600 index inched 0.16 per cent higher to 643.73 points.

On Thursday, basic resources stocks were the biggest laggards ⁠on the benchmark, with a decline of 1.38 per cent.

Media shares led the index with a 1.43 per cent gain, while tech stocks ‌were ‌flat ​despite Taiwan’s TSMC reporting a record 77 per cent jump in second-quarter profit.

ASML jumped 3.16 per cent, while semiconductor stocks STMicroelectronics and BE Semiconductor slipped 4.91 per cent and 3.20 per cent respectively.

ABB slipped 5.91 per cent after it announced its takeover of Rotork, and it said ‌its second-quarter operating profits beat expectations.

In regional earnings, Swedish industrial technology group Indutrade jumped 17.08 per cent after reporting better-than-expected second-quarter results.

Telenor tumbled 11.64 per cent ​after the Norwegian telecom operator cut its 2026 outlook following weaker-than-expected second-quarter earnings.

French advertising ​group Publicis rose 3.07 per cent after reporting higher first-half revenue, driven by strong demand for AI-driven marketing services.

New York

The S&P 500 and the ‌Nasdaq fell on Thursday as renewed weakness in chip stocks overshadowed an upbeat start to second-quarter earnings, while investors parsed fresh economic data for clues on the health of the ​US economy.

The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index fell as semiconductor stocks extended losses from the previous session.

US-listed shares of TSMC also fell, even after the advanced AI chipmaker reported stellar results, ramping up volatility in the market.

Memory-chip makers were among the biggest laggards, with Western Digital and Seagate Technology both down, while Micron Technology also slumped.

The consumer staples sector ​was leading gains on the benchmark, while ​a fall in the information technology sector muted gains on the rest of the index. – Additional reporting by Reuters