Aryzta shares surge following deal

ARYZTA shares rose more than 17pc yesterday after the company said it had agreed an underwriting deal for its planned €800m capital raise.

Credit Suisse and JP Morgan are among the entities who have come on board, and the rise in Aryzta helped drag the Iseq 0.18pc higher yesterday. It finished at 6646.72.

In the US, stocks were higher in early trading, with technology shares accounting for most of the gains. Treasury two-year note yields rose to a one-decade high, while oil steadied.

The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq swung between gains and losses all morning as lingering anxiety about US and Chinese trade relations hung over global financial markets. The Nasdaq 100 Index rose, led by gains in Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and Google parent Alphabet.

“Tech is strong, rebounding from that sell-off it had,” said Gary Bradshaw, a portfolio manager at Hodges Capital Management in Dallas. “It goes back to second quarter earnings that were exceptionally strong. Obviously we still have trade that hasn’t been worked out, but in spite of a few negatives, this market wants to continue to go higher.”

However, the memory of summertime volatility and weakness in commodities also still provides plenty of reasons for caution as investors brace for meetings of central banks of Argentina, Turkey and Russia.

Elsewhere, WTI oil held near $68 a barrel after speculation increased over whether a hurricane approaching the US East Coast would disrupt supplies and drive prices higher.