Sliding banks, tumbling tech drag Europe stocks to three-week low

World equity markets fell on Tuesday, with US stocks hurt by worries over softening demand for the iPhone and corporate growth prospects, while oil prices sank on concerns about rising global supply.

DUBLIN

Dublin followed other European markets lower, with most stocks slipping into the red on low volumes traded. The Iseq index closed down just over 1 per cent to 5817.30.

Troubled Swiss-Irish food group Aryzta was one of the few to shine, ending the day up almost 2 per cent to €1.20.

CRH, which forecast on Tuesday that its earnings will reach an all-time high of €3.35 billion this year, was flat at €23.93.

Trading on Irish market calm as investors await Brexit news

---

Bitcoin is ‘evil spawn’ of financial crisis, says ECB banker

---

Irish stocks and sterling plummet on Brexit confusion

---

Tech sell-off wipes out Nasdaq’s 2018 gain

---

Among the decliners were Bank of Ireland, down almost 3 per cent to €5.73, drinks group C&C, which closed 1.5 per cent to €3.20, and Dalata, down 4.3 per cent to €4.61.

Other fallers included FBD, down 4.7 per cent to €10, Kingspan, 5.5 per cent lower at €38.54, and Paddy Power, down 2.7 per cent to €79.75. Smurfit Kappa closed 2.4 per cent lower at €24.46.

LONDON

UK shares fell to three-week lows as investors dumped stocks amid renewed fears about Brexit and Rome’s budget showdown with Brussels, while Wall Street gloom across tech and retail spread across Europe.

The FTSE 100 ended the day down 0.8 per cent, its third straight daily loss.

Among the few corporate earnings as the results season draws to a close, Compass Group and Halma were in demand, rising 5.4 per cent and 3 per cent respectively, as investors cheered cost-cutting efforts.

Electrical engineering company Spectris, on the FTSE 250, jumped 12 per cent, closely followed by Plus500 which rose 11.3 per cent after announcing better-than-expected results.

Indivior plunged almost 45 per cent in afternoon trade for its worst day on record after a US court gave the go-ahead for a generic drug company to sell a copycat of its opioid treatment.

EUROPE

European stocks fell on Tuesday, with banks weighing heavily on worries about slowing economic growth, fading earnings momentum, Italy’s budget, and a lower likelihood of rate hikes in Europe next year.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 1.1 per cent to its lowest level in more than three weeks, with Germany’s DAX down 1.2 per cent.

Europe's bank stocks index sank 2.3 per cent, its worst day in nearly six weeks, with Italian lenders down 2.6 per cent, at their lowest level since the end of November 2016. Deutsche Bank fell 4.8 per cent to a fresh record low.

Stocks supplying chips to Apple were among the worst-performing. STMicroelectronics shares tumbled 1.8 per cent, Infineon fell 1 per cent and AMS lost 0.9 per cent.

French carmaker Renault remained under pressure, down 1.2 per cent as Exane and BAML analysts downgraded the stock. It fell 8.4 per cent on Monday when chief executive Carlos Ghosn was arrested on allegations of financial misconduct.

WALL STREET

The S&P 500 hit a three-week low early in trading on Tuesday, as weak earnings from retailers including Target and Kohl's, as well as a fall in energy shares, added to worries for Wall Street, which is still reeling from a technology sell-off.

Apple shares dropped again on Tuesday, falling 4.8 per cent to its lowest level since early May, as concerns lingered over slowing demand for iPhones. Target Corp shares slumped 10.5 per cent after third-quarter profit missed analysts' estimates. The company's investments in its online business, higher wages and price cuts hurt margins. Department store operator Kohl's Corp shed 9.2 per cent after its full-year profit forecast fell below expectations.

– Additional reporting: Reuters