European stocks closed steady on Monday, ceding earlier gains.
Meanwhile, oil majors’ shares gained as Brent crude rose towards $108 a barrel after US president Donald Trump rejected Iran’s latest ceasefire proposal. The mining index slumped 1.1 per cent as gold and other precious metals sank.
Dublin
The Irish index of shares started the week on a positive note, although gains were limited. The Euronext Dublin closed Monday’s session up 0.55 per cent, or 74.03 points, at 14,463.32.
Shares in the State’s largest private-sector residential landlord, Ires Reit, were the standout performer on the day, surging more than 20 per cent on the news that it had received an offer of €1.386-a-share from UK investment firm Barings Investment, valuing the business at €726.9 million.
RM Block
Banking stocks were mixed, with AIB down 0.4 per cent and Bank of Ireland up a similar percentage. Insurer FBD was down 0.8 per cent by the close of the day.
Elsewhere, food stocks had a mixed session, with Glanbia adding 0.7 per cent. Kerry Group was largely unchanged.
Among construction stocks, Kingspan was up 1.5 per cent over the day, while home builders Glenveagh and Cairn gained 3.4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.
Elsewhere, Ryanair gained 0.6 per cent, while ferries group Irish Continental was up 0.25 per cent.
London
Stocks in London closed mixed on Monday, with housebuilders the clear winners after the UK government unveiled a new equity loan programme for first-time buyers.
The FTSE-100 index ended down 10.37 points, or 0.1 per cent.
Home builders Taylor Wimpey, Bellway, Persimmon and Barratt Redrow all rose more than 10 per cent after the government announced a new loan programme for first-time buyers which analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co described as a potential “game-changer”.
Mining stocks fell back sharply amid lower metal prices. Fresnillo fell 5.1 per cent, and Endeavour Mining shed 4.5 per cent. On the FTSE-250, Hochschild Mining ebbed 7.2 per cent.
Europe
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was little changed by the close, as was the CAC 40 in Paris. The DAX 40 in Frankfurt closed down 0.1 per cent.
Among individual stocks, Rexel dropped 3.1 per cent after the French company announced a deal to buy speciality wire and cable provider GCG for an enterprise value of about $1.4 billion.
Shares in European gambling firms slid after Brazil issued a provisional measure banning all forms of online gambling. Entain shed 5 per cent to touch a six-month low.
European stocks are on track to snap a five-month winning streak in September, as surging energy prices fanned inflation fears and boosted bond yields across the world. Traders are ramping up bets on interest-rate hikes, with three increases now priced in the US, with the potential for a fourth.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Monday after Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to end the conflict, leading to a spike in crude prices that revived inflation worries and drove Treasury yields higher.
“The broader market hasn’t been able to gain much traction because of rising yields and oil prices,” said Chris Larkin at ETrade from Morgan Stanley. “And with the Fed focused on the inflation side of its mandate, unless this week’s labour market data is a major surprise, it will likely play second fiddle to interest rates and energy.”
Nvidia’s 2.1 per cent gain helped limit declines overall. The chip giant announced a $150 billion share buyback, making it the company’s biggest increase in share buy-backs on record.
At 11.50am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.74 per cent, the S&P 500 lost 0.83 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 1 per cent.
Communication Services fell 1.9 per cent and led sectoral declines on the S&P 500, with Meta easing 4.3 per cent from last week’s 13 per cent jump.
Tesla dipped 3.2 per cent after brokerage JP Morgan lowered its price target on the stock, citing weak deliveries in the third quarter. – Additional reporting by Reuters, Bloomberg and Press Association
