Irish and European markets notch up gains as US investors fret

European stocks climbed on Monday as investors assessed uncertainties around US debt ceiling talks and a runoff election in Turkey, while parsing data for clues on the state of the global economy.

Dublin

The Irish index of shares closed higher on Monday, supported by gains in banking and building stocks.

AIB rose 1.6 per cent, ending the day at €3.94, while Bank of Ireland was 2 per cent higher at €9.18. Insurer FBD continued to add value, rising 2.3 per cent to €13.30.

In construction CRH gained just under half a percentage point to €45.35, with Kingspan putting in similar gains and closing at €63.22. Home-builders Glenveagh and Cairn gained 2 per cent each.

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Ryanair was up 0.8 per cent, ending the session at €15.78.

Glanbia stock was one of the day’s decliners, falling 1.4 per cent.

London

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed 0.3 per cent higher, reaching its strongest level in two weeks in intraday trading.

Miners of both industrial and precious metals rose 1.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively, tracking a global rally in metal prices. British banks rose 1.6 per cent, extending Friday’s gains. Beaten-down property and real estate investment trust sectors gained 1.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent, rebounding from Friday’s losses.

The mid-cap FTSE 250 index gained 0.4 per cent as Trainline jumped 5.5 per cent after Stifel raised the rail ticketing company’s rating to “buy” from “hold”.

John Wood Group tumbled 34.4 per cent, its worst day on record, after US private equity firm Apollo Global Management said it does not intend to make a takeover offer for the oilfield services provider.

Electrical goods retailer Currys jumped 3 per cent, logging its best day in seven weeks, after raising its profit outlook for 2022/23. Online fast fashion group Asos slid 20.7 per cent after JP Morgan and Credit Suisse reduced their price target on the retailer.

Europe

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.3 per cent higher having also hit a two-week high during the session. The benchmark index has largely traded in a tight range this month as investors seek hints on how long major central banks will keep hiking interest rates to tame inflation.

While banks largely notched gains, shares of Spain’s BBVA – among the European banks most exposed to Turkey – slumped 4.2 per cent as the country’s presidential election headed for a runoff vote.

Among the top gainers, Axa, Europe’s second biggest insurance company, advanced 2.4 per cent on a better-than-expected first-quarter key capital buffer measure.

Evotec jumped 4.7 per cent after the biotech firm on Friday said it expected to return to Germany’s mid-cap index MDAX as early as June.

New York

The S&P 500 and the Dow were subdued in choppy trading on Monday after manufacturing data amplified worries of an economic slowdown, while gains in the shares of Meta boosted the Nasdaq. Shares of Meta Platforms rose 2.2 per cent after Loop Capital upgraded it to “buy” from “hold”.

At 12:49pm ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 18.89 points, or 0.06 per cent, at 33,319.51; the S&P 500 was up 6.87 points, or 0.17 per cent, at 4,130.95; and the Nasdaq Composite was up 54.49 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 12,339.23.

Oneok fell 8.7 per cent as it agreed on Sunday to buy US pipeline operator Magellan Midstream Partners in a $18.8 billion deal. Shares of Magellan jumped 13.7 per cent.

Western Digital jumped 10.5 per cent after Reuters reported the memory chip firm and its Japanese JV partner Kioxia Holdings are speeding up merger talks. – Additional reporting: Reuters