European stocks perform strongly

but have still posted their best monthly performance in more than three years, lifted by hopes the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing programme will revive the region’s economic growth and corporate earnings will bounce.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares recorded a gain of 7.1 per cent for January, its biggest since October 2011. It has strongly outpaced Wall Street, where the S&P 500 has lost 2.2 per cent since the start of the year.

The Iseq Overall Index closed down 0.5 per cent at 5,471.52.

Dublin

Shares in

Aer Lingus

traded down 3.7 per cent to €2.15 as opposition built towards the proposed €2.55-a-share offer from the Willie Walsh-led International Airlines Group.

There was weakness across Europe for airlines with rival Ryanair closing down 1 per cent at €10.40.

Bank of Ireland closed 1.5 per cent lower at 26.8 cent while CRH finished 0.7 per cent lower at €21.315.

Of the main market companies, drinks group C&C and recruitment company CPL were among the main gainers on the day both finishing up by just more than 1.3 per cent with ferry operator Irish Continental Group closing 1.5 per cent ahead at €3.30.

London

Britain’s top share index posted its strongest monthly performance in almost a year in January, although a fall in BT pushed the market lower on Friday.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed down 0.9 per cent at 6,749.40 points. The index nevertheless ended up about 2.8 per cent for the month of January – its strongest monthly performance since last February.

Telecoms group BT dropped 2.6 per cent after agreeing to pay down its ballooning pension deficit, and signing off on an upgrade of its fibre network.

Traders said the steps to put its finances in order ahead of a football rights auction and a deal to buy mobile network EE were needed, but would weigh on the stock in the short term.

The shares of major supermarket retailers, such as Sainsbury and Morrison, also lost ground. Traders attributed their fall to plans by the British government to give more powers to a watchdog to fine supermarkets if they fail to treat their suppliers fairly.

Europe

The FTSEurofirst 300 index ended the day down 0.6 percent, at 1,465.04 points, marking a pause in its recent sharp rally and mirroring a dip on Wall Street on Friday.

“It’s a little pause ahead of the weekend, but there’s no real selling pressure and, technically, charts show that indexes are still in a bullish trend,” Saxo Bank trader Andrea Tueni said.

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena featured among the top losers, losing 7.8 per cent after banking sources said a planned capital increase at the lender might be bigger than expected.

The troubled Italian bank is considering raising the size of its capital hike to about €3.5 billion, €1 billion more than initially planned, the sources said.

Around Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index lost 0.9 per cent, Germany’s DAX index shed 0.4 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 slid 0.6 per cent.

New York

Stocks fell in early trading, with the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index heading for its biggest monthly decline in a year, amid concern over economies in Europe and Russia as data showed slower growth in the US.

The SandP 500 slid 0.8 per cent to 2,005.63 at 11.31 am in New York. The gauge is down 2.6 per cent for the month, the biggest drop since last January.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 122.53 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 17,294.32 as Chevron Corp led losses after slashing its drilling budget.

The Nasdaq 100 Index was little changed as Amazon.com and Google surged. The US economy expanded at a slower pace than forecast in the fourth quarter.

– (Additional reporting by Reuters and Bloomberg)