Kingspan shares soar 8% as it taps hopes for European economic recovery          

The last-minute free-trade agreement between Britain and the EU following fears of a no-deal Brexit also boosted investor confidence in the building products multinational

London saw a new-year stock market rally with the Ftse-100 climbing by 2.6%.

Kingspan shares soared 8% as the Irish building products multinational tapped a new-year global stock market rally driven by hopes that the roll-out of vaccines will speed recovery in Britain and the rest of Europe. 

The stock markets rally was most pronounced in London, with the Ftse-100, which has many internationally-focused firms, climbing by 2.6%, and also benefitting from the €9bn offer for Ladbrokes-owner Entain by US casino owner MGM Resorts. 

The index of eurozone stocks, the Eurostoxx, rose by over 1%, with the Iseq in Ireland increasing by over 2%. 

Kingspan shares appear to have also tapped into the buying by investors who had previously been frightened off companies selling into Britain amid fears over Britain crashing out of the UK.

The 11th-hour agreement for a free-trade agreement in goods between the EU and UK before Christmas has lifted such fears.  

Shares in the Irish building products maker had also been weighed before Christmas by testimony from its British executives to the Grenfell inquiry into the 2017 London tower block fire that killed 72 people.

More than €3.5bn had been cut from Kingspan's stock market value since it first started to give evidence in November. 

The company makes insulated panels and boards for world markets and some of that product, Kooltherm K15, was used in the refurbishment of the Grenfell tower block. Most of the insulation for the tower block came from another firm, Celotex.

Kingspan has said that the ongoing inquiry had put in the spotlight "historic process shortcomings and unacceptable conduct within a part of our UK Insulation business". 

Hearings have resumed. Here is a link to the live stream https://t.co/mVkhfVRcnP

— Grenfell Tower Inquiry (@grenfellinquiry) December 8, 2020

In December, the Grenfell inquiry had heard that Kingspan worked with a public relations agency to lobby MPs weeks after the blaze.

Kingspan shares rose 8% to €61.85 to value the firm at almost €11.2bn. That is still below its all-time high of €84.55 of early November.   

Bloomberg reported last month that Kingspan and Standard Industries, two of the final suitors for Bridgestone's Firestone Building Products unit, had dropped out of the bidding. Firestone Building Products was expected to fetch more than $2.5bn (€2bn). 

In the US, stocks fluctuated as concern over tougher Covid-19 restrictions offset speculation that widespread vaccine distribution and government stimulus would reignite economic growth. The dollar fell toward an almost three-year low.

The S&P 500 dropped from a record, led by technology companies. 

Bitcoin sank as much as 17% after soaring to all-time highs over the weekend, while cryptocurrency-exposed shares such as Ebang International and Marathon Patent jumped.