Markets close negatively as G20 summit leaves investors disappointed

MOST international exchanges closed the week in negative territory, as investors were put off by lack of action at the G20 summit in Cannes, poor employment figures in the US and worrying manufacturing data from Germany.

Dublin’s ISEQ index slipped by just under 1% — the likes of DCC, Aryzta, Origin Enterprises, Ryanair and Aer Lingus among the losers; while CPL Resources, C&C, Kerry Group, Paddy Power and Tullow Oil were among the biggest climbers.

A rollercoaster week for global equity markets — what with unexpected ECB interest rate cuts, the constantly changing Greek question and varying economic outlooks from the US — hit another couple of dips as the G20 meeting failed to agree on an increase to the resources of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and poor manufacturing data from Germany raised concerns over the long-term well-being of the eurozone.

While the leading Asian markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong were up by between 2% and 3%, the rest of the world failed to follow suit. Sweden’s benchmark index was one of the rare European bourses to make gains; as the heavy hitters like the FTSE in London (down by 0.3%), the CAC-40 in Paris (down by 2.25%) and the DAX in Frankfurt (down by 2.72%) all fell.

Midday trading in the US showed early falls on Wall Street — the Dow Jones down by nearly 1%, along with the S&P-500 and the Nasdaq down by just over half a percent.

The S&P-500 was heading towards its first weekly drop for a month, with all ten of its members — including Bank of America and insurance giant AIG in decline.

On the wider G20 issues, one analyst warned: “Initial indications suggest that G20 leaders are having difficulties agreeing on the relatively easy items on their agenda. This bodes badly for the more difficult issues that also need coordinated measures on the part of the G20.”