Business

Choppy trading session in Europe as markets close down

Iseq retreats slightly as food groups fall

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street’s main indexes were subdued on Monday as investors took a breather after the previous week’s rally, awaiting results from major companies that could influence whether markets would sustain their record highs or decline. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Wall Street’s main indexes were subdued on Monday as investors took a breather after the previous week’s rally, awaiting results from major companies that could influence whether markets would sustain their record highs or decline. Photograph: Michael M Santiago/Getty Images
Fiona Keeley
Mon Oct 21 2024 - 18:40

The Iseq in Dublin fell 0.39 per cent on Monday. It comes as markets across Europe closed down between 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent in a choppy trading session.

Dublin

Among the food companies, Kerry Group fell 1.16 per cent to €93.50 and Glanbia decreased by 1.72 per cent to €16.04. From a home builder perspective, Glenveagh fell 1.23 per cent to €1.61 a share and Cairn Homes rose 0.71 to €2.12.

Ryanair climbed by 0.57 per cent to €17.60. Ireland’s biggest hotel chain Dalata fell 1.05 per cent to €4.24. AIB dropped 0.45 per cent to €4.90 and Bank of Ireland fell 0.63 per cent to €8.84 a share. Kingspan decreased by 0.06 per cent to €83.25 amid news that it had acquired a majority stake in Sweden’s Nordic Waterproofing, a move that the company said would lift its annualised roofing and waterproofing revenues to about €1 billion.

London

The FTSE 100 finished lower after a turbulent session, as the value of the pound also slumped.

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In the equity markets, domestic-focused companies – such as housebuilders and retailers – had a particularly weak session.

However, a jump in oil and metal prices helped to drive a stronger session for commodity stocks, with metal giant Ferrexpo a top performer after gold and silver prices soared.

London’s top index finished 0.48 per cent lower to end the day at 8,318.24. Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, said: “Today’s gains have taken gold to its third-consecutive record high.

“Geopolitical worries and rising expectations of a Trump win in November continue to boost the commodity, which enjoyed one of its best years in recent memory,” he said.

“Oil prices are up too, but after brutal losses over the past two weeks, suggesting this is more like profit-taking than anything else.”

Europe

European shares ended Monday’s choppy session in the red ahead of a series of marquee corporate earnings, although stabilising oil prices buoyed the energy sector.

The continent-wide Stoxx 600 slipped 0.6 per cent, with the real estate sector leading with a near 2 per cent drop, while energy stocks led gains as oil prices stabilised after a 7 per cent drop last week.

Bourses in top markets Germany, France, Italy and Spain ended down between 0.6 per cent and 1 per cent.

The Stoxx index had ended higher last week, on the back of a rise the week before as well, after the European Central Bank (ECB) cut its interest rate on Thursday.

Lithuanian central bank governor Gediminas Simkus said on Monday the ECB may need to reduce it below the “natural” level if a fall in inflation became entrenched.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on Deutsche Bank, Lloyds and Barclays who will kick off earnings reporting for the heavily weighted financials sector this week.

New York

Wall Street’s main indexes were subdued on Monday as investors took a breather after the previous week’s rally, awaiting results from major companies that could influence whether markets would sustain their record highs or decline.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.21 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.07 per cent, and the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.01 per cent.

Treasury yields rose, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year bond rising as high as 4.14 per cent, pressuring rate-sensitive stocks.

The real estate sector lost 0.8 per cent amid broader market declines. Consumer Discretionary was off 0.7 per cent, weighed by Tesla and Amazon.com, which were down 1.5 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.

Of the so-called Magnificent Seven group of stocks, most slipped. However, Nvidia and Alphabet gained 1.6 per cent and 0.2 per cent, respectively.

Most chip stocks also edged lower, sending the broader Semiconductor index down 0.2 per cent.

Boeing’s 5 per cent jump kept losses on the Dow in check after news that workers could vote on a new deal to end a costly five-week-long strike.

A broadly positive start to the quarterly earnings season and upbeat economic data had propelled indexes higher over the past two weeks. The three major indexes logged a sixth consecutive week of gains on Friday, in their best winning streak so far this year. Additional reporting: Agencies

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