European shares drifted lower on Monday after dour updates from luxury companies weighed on the sector, while sentiment remained fragile following the assassination attempt on US presidential candidate Donald Trump over the weekend.
Under Trump, markets expect a hawkish trade policy and looser regulations over issues from energy policy to cryptocurrency.
DUBLIN
The Irish index of shares ended Monday marginally lower, falling 0.29 per cent to 9740. Banking shares edged higher, with AIB adding 1.46 per cent and Bank of Ireland gaining a more modest 0.25 over the session. Permanent TSB stock rose just under 5 per cent, reaching €1.40. Insurer FBD, meanwhile, was 1.57 per cent up over the day.
Food stocks Kerry and Glanbia moved into the red, losing 1.7 per cent and 1.3 per cent, respectively. Ryanair also ended the day off the pace at €17.06, almost 0.4 per cent down.
Insulation specialist Kingspan shed 0.81 per cent to close at €85.85.
LONDON
Britain’s FTSE 100 closed lower on Monday, pressured by weaker commodity prices and US political uncertainty, while shares of luxury retailer Burberry plunged to a 14-year low.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.85 per cent, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 dipped 0.1 per cent. Both indexes snapped three sessions of gains.
Shares of Burberry dived 16 per cent after the company named former Michael Kors boss Joshua Schulman as chief executive, replacing Jonathan Akeroyd, and issued a profit warning.
Industrial metal miners dropped 1.5 per cent as copper prices eased on weak demand prospects in top consumer China, which faces slow economic growth, weak lending numbers and rising inventories.
EUROPE
The continentwide STOXX 600 closed 1 per cent lower, snapping a three-session winning streak.
Swatch Group shed 9.8 per cent as the world’s biggest watchmaker reported a steep fall in first-half sales and earnings.
A gauge of the top 10 European luxury stocks lost close to 3 per cent, while the personal and household goods sector led losses among the big STOXX 600 sectors with a 2.1 per cent drop.
European renewable energy companies such as Orsted, RWE, Nordex, Vestas and Siemens Energy dropped between 3.4 per cent and 6.4 per cent, with traders linking the weakness to increased chances of a US election win for Donald Trump.
Among other stocks, Nordea lost 3.8 per cent after the Finnish bank reported second-quarter operating earnings just below expectations.
TomTom dropped 8.4 per cent after the digital mapping specialist suspended its revenue target for 2025 and trimmed its expectations for this year as weak demand for new cars weighed on its automotive location technology business.
[ Poll finds US voters think they will be better off financially under Donald TrumpOpens in new window ]
NEW YORK
Wall Street jumped in upbeat trading on Monday, on a greater chance of presidential candidate Donald Trump winning a second term after surviving an assassination attempt, while interest-rate cut hopes also aided market sentiment.
Trump-linked stocks soared, with Trump Media & Technology Group jumping 26.8 per cent, while software firm Phunware and video-sharing platform Rumble rose 4.6 per cent and 5.4 per cent, respectively.
Crypto stocks also leapt as bitcoin rose to a two-week high. Coinbase Global, Marathon Digital Holdings and Riot Platforms advanced between 8.9 per cent and 10.9 per cent.
Other stocks that are expected to benefit from Trump’s second term climbed, with gunmaker Smith & Wesson and prison operator GEO Group gaining 11.9 per cent and 10.5 per cent, respectively.
At 12.01am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 328.71 points, or 0.82 per cent, at 40,329.61; the S&P 500 was up 40.53 points, or 0.72 per cent, at 5,655.88; and the Nasdaq Composite was up 163.54 points, or 0.89 per cent, at 18,561.98.
The S&P 500 financials index jumped 1.5 per cent, with Goldman Sachs hitting a record-high after second-quarter profit more than doubled.
– Additional reporting: Reuters
