Global markets turned sharply lower on Tuesday as revived trade tensions between Washington and Beijing and the prolonged US government shutdown doused investor risk appetite.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin was an outperformer relative to international peers as it finished the day up 0.1 per cent.
It was mostly red on the index at close of business, but budget airline Ryanair was the standout performer on the day as it finished up 0.4 per cent.
The airline sector was described as “a little jumpy” by a trader following reports Swiss-headquartered shipping company MSC is considering a takeover of EasyJet, which is Europe’s second-largest budget airline after Ryanair.
RM Block
Elsewhere, there was a bit of weakness in Cavan-based insulation specialist Kingspan, which dropped 0.8 per cent.
Among the financial names, AIB was up marginally, while Bank of Ireland fared slightly better, finishing up 0.4 per cent.
It was a soft day for the food names as Kerry Group and Glanbia finished down 0.9 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.
London
The FTSE 100 posted modest gains on, rising 0.1 per cent as it outperformed European and US peers. The FTSE 250 ended 0.2 per cent lower, and the AIM All-Share dropped 0.4 per cent.
EasyJet climbed 8 per cent as Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported the potential takeover of the budget carrier.
Bookmaker Entain climbed 1.8 per cent as its US joint venture BetMGM reported a strong third quarter, with first-half momentum continuing and full-year guidance raised.
On the FTSE 250, faculties manager Mitie jumped 14 per cent as it upgraded operating profit guidance and launched a new share buyback, following solid first-half revenue growth and continued progress with the integration of its recent Marlowe acquisition.
Housebuilder Bellway firmed 5.3 per cent after announcing a share buyback and reporting a 21 per cent increase in annual pretax profit as revenue climbed 17 per cent.
Europe
European stocks slid to a near two-week low as renewed US-China trade tensions soured investor sentiment and French tire maker Michelin cut its annual forecast, sending its shares to the lowest level in more than two years.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index fell 0.35 per cent, while Europe’s broad FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 0.32 per cent. MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe fell 0.53 per cent, while the Dax 40 in Frankfurt ended 0.6 per cent lower.
France’s Cac 40 Index trimmed declines to 0.2 per cent as prime minister Sébastien Lecornu said he would propose suspending application of the country’s pension reform, sacrificing a key economic measure in an endgame bid for political stability.
Trade-exposed autos and mining shares were among the biggest laggards, while defensive sectors such as telecom, property and utilities outperformed.
Ericsson jumped 18 per cent, the most since 2002, after its third-quarter profit and cash flow soared thanks to the sale of its call-routing business Iconectiv. Michelin slumped 8.9 per cent after the tiremaker issued a profit warning due to much weaker performance in North America.
New York
All three major US stock indexes veered deep into negative territory in early trading, with megacap momentum stocks pulling the tech-heavy Nasdaq down most.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 0.2 per cent, the S&P 500 was 0.5 per cent lower, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 0.9 per cent.
Wall Street’s drop came despite strong third quarter results from investment banks JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Citi, which all beat market expectations.
Citi climbed 1.2 per cent, but JPMorgan fell 2 per cent and Goldman Sachs dropped 2.8 per cent.
JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon cautioned: “There continues to be a heightened degree of uncertainty stemming from complex geopolitical conditions, tariffs and trade uncertainty, elevated asset prices and the risk of sticky inflation.”
The yield on the US 10-year Treasury was quoted at 4.05 per cent, widened from 4.04 per cent at the time of the London equities close on Monday. – Additional reporting: Agencies
