European shares fell on Monday as disappointing Chinese economic data weighed on luxury goods and car stocks, with French equities market dented further as the country’s creditworthiness was downgraded by Moody’s over the weekend.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.1 per cent lower.
DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index fell 1.2 per cent, with banking stocks generally lower. AIB lost 0.7 per cent to €5.36 and Bank of Ireland edged 1.4 per cent lower to €8.66 as investors continued to price the impact of further expected official rates cuts next year. Still, PTSB edged 0.3 per cent higher to €1.50.
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Travel-related stocks were also out of sorts, with Dalata Hotel Group down 1.5 per cent at €4.40 and Ryanair off 1.9 per cent at €19.37.
Kerry Group was also in focus as members of Kerry Co-op, its main investor group, voted in favour of a plan to take control of the public-limited company’s dairy processing unit. The stock dipped 0.4 per cent to €91.05.
LONDON
The FTSE 100 index slipped 0.5 per cent, with Ladbrokes owner Entain dropping 6.3 per cent after Australia’s financial crime watchdog initiated legal proceedings against it, claiming it breached anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing laws.
Meanwhile, British businesses cut staffing at the fastest pace in almost four years and reported the sharpest confidence drop since the initial Covid lockdown, according to two surveys that placed much of the blame on the new government’s tax increases.
Precious metal miners led sectoral losses with a 2.1 per cent decline. Energy companies such as Shell and BP lost 1.6 per cent and 2.7 per cent respectively, tracking lower oil prices on weak Chinese consumer spending.
Computacenter was among the biggest decliners on the mid-cap index, dropping 3.1 per cent after the technology and services provider’s finance chief Christian Jehle stepped down.
EUROPE
France’s blue-chip CAC 40 lost 0.7 per cent after the credit ratings agency Moody’s unexpectedly downgraded France’s rating late on Friday by one level to Aa3, with a stable outlook. The news came hours after president Emmanuel Macron named veteran centrist Francois Bayrou as his fourth prime minister this year.
In Germany parliament accepted chancellor Olaf Scholz’s invitation to withdraw its confidence in him and his government. The DAX closed 0.5 per cent lower.
Surveys showed Germany’s economic downturn eased slightly in December but business activity still contracted for a sixth month running, while France’s services sector shrank further.
The European Central Bank last week cut rates for the fourth time this year. This week monetary policy decisions from the US Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Bank of Japan are on the radar.
Porsche fell 2.2 per cent after warning it may write down the value of its stake in Volkswagen by up to €20 billion. It said it expected its 2024 group result after tax to be “significantly negative”. Volkswagen closed 2 per cent lower.
NEW YORK
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were higher in early afternoon trading as investors looked ahead to an anticipated Fed interest rate cut later in the week as well as several key data releases for clues on monetary policy next year.
Most megacap and growth stocks traded higher, with Google-parent Alphabet and Amazon.com leading the way.
Both the Nasdaq 100 touched fresh record highs.
“The Nasdaq 100 has hit a fresh record high, and small-caps are in demand, as the final year-end chase gets under way, this is the ‘Santa rally’ almost right on cue,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
S&P Global’s December flash PMI showed manufacturing activity stood at 48.3
Honeywell International gained after the industrial conglomerate said it was exploring a separation of its aerospace business.
Tesla rose after Wedbush Securities raised its price target on the stock.
Cryptocurrency stocks rose as bitcoin jumped above $106,000 after Trump suggested he plans to create a US bitcoin strategic reserve.
– Additional reporting, Reuters.
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