ICG ship delay helps push ISEQ lower

A 2pc drop in Irish Ferries parent ICG helped push the ISEQ index of Irish shares lower yesterday.

The fall came as ICG announced a further delay to the delivery of a new ferry. It said it had failed to secure a replacement ship on charter, meaning planned journeys are being cancelled.

Around 6,000 bookings are affected, with alternative options to be offered to customers.

The ISEQ closed at 7127.70. Elsewhere, technology shares pushed US stock indexes higher, as traders looked ahead to major central bank decisions while putting the meeting between President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in the rear-view mirror.

Most observers expected the summit would not trigger a large market reaction, except perhaps in the event of a shock outcome. A seemingly certain Federal Reserve interest rate increase today, plus the prospect of a hawkish European Central Bank tilt tomorrow, tease far more concrete developments for traders.

Yesterday’s US inflation figures – which were in line with estimates – may even reignite the four-hikes-in-2018 debate ahead of the Fed’s decision.

“The world tour from Canada and to Singapore concluded with a photo-op, a handshake and little details on the how to achieve denuclearisation,” Mark McCormick, North American head of foreign-exchange strategy at TorontoDominion Bank, wrote in an email to clients. “That leaves markets pivoting back to more predictable events like data and central bank decisions.”

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index retreated after modest gains for many Asian shares failed to ignite the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.