In the latest financial news, Ryanair has declared its first-ever dividend of €0.35 a share following a 59% rise in profit after tax and a 30% increase in revenues. The surge in the airline's performance is attributed to record summer traffic and higher fares, which helped boost customer numbers by 11% to 105.4m.
On the other hand, Melrose Industries, a part of the FTSE 100 index, has expanded its partnership with GE Aerospace. The company's GKN (LON:GKN) Aerospace division signed a $5bn aftermarket services agreement for its high-thrust GEnx engine. The deal is estimated to span over the next 30 years.
European stock indices, including the FTSE 100, CAC 40, DAX, and Stoxx 600, started the week on a positive note, thanks to last week's rally and expectations of peaked interest rates. This upward trend was also observed in US markets across Dow Jones, S&P 500, and NASDAQ indices.
Despite the overall market optimism, London stocks opened slightly lower on Monday. The FTSE 100 was set to open down five points at 7,412 as investors digested recent Federal Reserve and Bank of England interest rate decisions. Market analysts hinted at a mixed start for European stocks as they consolidated last week’s gains.
A host of major companies including Uber (NYSE:UBER), Lyft (NASDAQ:LYFT), Disney, Robinhood (NASDAQ:HOOD), eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY), Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa), and Instacart (NASDAQ:CART) are set to announce their earnings this week. This follows the UK's GDP expectation to contract by 0.1% in September.
Asian markets also experienced growth with Hang Seng and Shanghai Composite indices showing an upward trend, while Japan's Nikkei 225 gained despite slow service activity expansion. However, a slow demand outlook is expected for Europe. Amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and Middle East turmoil, Brent crude prices have increased.
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