Stock markets drop as investors maintain cautious stance

European shares fell on Wednesday as investors maintained a cautious stance after data signalled a slower-than-expected pickup in the euro zone’s economic recovery.

That recovery picked up pace last month, but the upturn was uneven across industries and countries, according to a survey that showed price pressures remained elevated in the region. European Central Bank chief economist Philip Lane said food inflation is still intensifying in Europe and may be the key driver of price growth now.

Dublin

The Iseq slid 2.1 per cent, underperforming the big European indices and extending Tuesday’s losses, with the Dublin market dragged lower by a 5.6 per cent decline for building materials group CRH. It closed down at €43.33, erasing recent gains. The cement-maker, the Iseq’s biggest stock, was also one of the main fallers on the FTSE 100.

Ryanair ended down 2 per cent at €14.14, while insulation-maker Kingspan shed 7.5 per cent to €56.52. Banking stocks finished in the red too, with Bank of Ireland nudging down about 0.25 per cent to €9.17 and AIB slipping 1.6 per cent to €3.62.

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But Kerry Group added 1.3 per cent to close at €91.78, while packaging giant Smurfit Kappa closed up 0.85 per cent, at €33.32.

London

The UK’s FTSE 100 rose 0.4 per cent as data showed that the dominant services sector in March reported the strongest new business expansion in a year, while shares of drugmaker AstraZeneca climbed to the top of the benchmark index.

AstraZeneca rose 3.1 per cent after the drugmaker said a combination of its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza met the main goal in a late-stage trial.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 index fell 1.1 per cent, with industrial firms and consumer discretionary stocks leading losses.

RS Group slid 6.3 per cent after the distributor of industrial and electronics products posted slower fourth-quarter revenue momentum.

John Wood Group jumped 7.2 per cent as private equity firm Apollo Management made what it said was a final offer to buy the oilfield services and engineering firm. Direct Line climbed 6.7 per cent when analysts at Citigroup double-upgraded the motor insurer’s stock to “buy”.

Europe

The pan-European STOXX 600 index slipped 0.2 per cent, with industrial goods and services dropping 2.1 per cent. Utility and healthcare stocks rose, however, limiting losses.

In Germany, industrial orders rose more than expected in February, driven by a strong growth in the vehicle construction sector. However, the Dax shed 0.5 per cent in Frankfurt, dragged down by a weakness in industrial and consumer discretionary shares.

Among individual stocks, Swedish truck maker Volvo dropped 11.8 per cent after trading ex-dividend. Sodexo jumped 11.3 per cent, with the French catering and food services group planning to spin off and list its benefits and rewards services business in 2024.

Shares of UBS dipped 1.3 per cent as the Swiss lender sought to reassure investors that it can make its unexpected takeover of rival Credit Suisse work and pay off for shareholders. Italy’s Telecom Italia added 0.5 per cent following Italian media reports that private equity firm KKR aims at improving its offer on network grid.

New York

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell as a slew of weak economic data deepened worries that the rapid interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve may tip the US economy into a recession.

Nvidia was among the top drags on the S&P 500, down 2.9 per cent, as Alphabet’s Google said the supercomputers it uses to train its artificial intelligence models were faster and more power-efficient than comparable systems from the chipmaker.

Big technology and growth stocks such as Meta Platforms, Tesla and Amazon.com slipped between 1.5 per cent and 4 per cent.

Johnson & Johnson gained 3.3 per cent following its $8.9-billion offer to settle talc-related lawsuits gained support of thousands of claimants. – Additional reporting: Reuters