US stocks suffer biggest decline in two months on worries about economic outlook

US stocks suffered their biggest decline in two months on Monday, with tech shares falling sharply on worries about the gloomy economic outlook and concerns that members of the Federal Reserve will adopt a hawkish tone at the Jackson Hole symposium this week.

Wall Street’s benchmark S&P 500 index slid 2.1 per cent, its most severe one-day fall since mid-June. There were declines across every sector, but technology stocks and cyclical consumer groups including Amazon and Tesla were the worst hit. The tech-dominated Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.5 per cent.

European shares fell to their lowest level in nearly one month on Monday as worries about tightening gas supplies from Russia, hawkish signals from the European Central Bank and weak economic outlook weighed on investors’ minds.

Dublin

The Iseq index fell by more than 1.6 per cent. On a difficult day for banks across Europe, AIB finished the session down by almost 5.2 per cent to close at €2.09 per share. Bank of Ireland was down by 1.3 per cent to €5.75.

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Britain’s inflation crisis, the worst in Europe, weighed on leisure stocks with exposure to the British market. Irish Continental Group, the owner of Irish Ferries, slipped 2.4 per cent to €4 per share, while Ryanair was down by almost half a per cent to €12.24.

Insulation group Kingspan slipped back on Monday, days after it reported a first half revenue surge. It fell 4.3 per cent to €58.34. CRH was down 1.6 per cent to €37.79 per share.

London

The FTSE 250 index, home to several companies exposed to the domestic economy, slid 2 per cent to its lowest level since July 21st. Airlines, industrials, home builders and retailers took the biggest hit among mid-caps.

The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 slipped 0.2 per cent, but losses were capped by sterling’s tumble to mid-July lows.

Wizz Air dropped 9.8 per cent as the European budget carrier said its finance chief would step down from his post.

Cineworld slumped 21.4 per cent as the world’s second-largest cinema chain operator was considering options including a possible bankruptcy filing in the United States.

Vodafone announced plans to sell its Hungarian arm to 4iG in a £1.5 billion (€1.77 billion) deal. Its share price has been in long-term decline and it dipped again on Monday, ending the day 1.86p lower at 119.88p.

Europe

Russia will halt natural gas supplies to Europe for three days at the end of the month, energy giant Gazprom said, piling pressure on the continent as it seeks to refuel ahead of winter.

Uniper, Germany’s top importer of Russian gas, declined 7.7 per cent to hover near a record low, while its parent Fortum fell 4.4 per cent. Germany’s DAX index tumbled 2.3 per cent for its worst session in nearly seven weeks.

Credit Suisse slipped 0.8 per cent to a fresh record low. The Swiss lender appointed Deutsche Bank’s Dixit Joshi as chief financial officer and promoted EMEA chief Francesca McDonagh, who recently departed Bank of Ireland, to chief operating officer.

French supermarket retailer Carrefour fell 0.9 per cent after saying it would freeze prices on 100 products to help people tackle soaring inflation in the country.

German sporting goods maker Adidas fell 5.2 per cent as it unexpectedly said chief executive Kasper Rørsted would leave his post next year.

New York

High-growth and technology companies such as Apple and Tesla fell 1.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively, as the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield rose past 3 per cent for the first time since July 21st.

Banks fell 1.9 per cent, with lenders JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America down more than 1 per cent each.

Signify Health jumped 33.7 per cent following a report on Sunday that UnitedHealth Group, Amazon, CVS and Option Care Health were bidding to acquire the company.

AMC Entertainment Holdings tumbled 39.4 per cent after the cinema chain’s preferred stock listing started trading and its UK-based rival Cineworld Group warned of a possible bankruptcy filing.

(Additional reporting: Reuters/PA/Financial Times)