Markets down across Europe on Trump’s words

Shares fell across Europe as newly-inaugurated US president, Donald Trump, signalled his intention to renegotiate deals such as the North American Free Trade Agreement.

DUBLIN

The Irish market reflected movement elsewhere in Europe, finishing down on Monday.

Bookmaker Paddy Power Betfair led the way down, tumbling 3.1 per cent to €96.80 after issuing a statement saying that a run of winning favourites hit profits in the closing three months of 2016.

However, it said that earnings would still hit the mid-point between £390 million (€453 million) and £405 million, the guidance that it issued last November.

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Bank of Ireland was another faller on the day, shedding 2 per cent to 24.5 cent. However, traders pointed out that this was from a "very high close" of 25 cent on Friday.

Another financial stock, insurer FBD, climbed 4.45 per cent to €7.75. No news drove the increase, but dealers pointed out that investors are latching on the fact that the mild winter means that the company is not facing large payouts for flooding and severe weather damage.

Cider maker C&C dropped 1.75 per cent to close at €3.93. The stock traded at lower levels during the day. Packaging group Smurfit Kappa inched up 0.52 per cent to €25.38.

LONDON

A rise in gold helped to push miners to the top of the bluechip FTSE 100, including Antofagasta, up 27.5p to 789.5p, Fresnillo up 48p to 1,450p, Anglo American up 19p to 1,308p, and Glencore up 2.05p to 320.4p.

Lloyds Banking Group shares fell 0.67p to 64.4p following news that the bank had been hit by a three-day cyber attack designed to overwhelm its systems and disrupt its digital services earlier this month.

The series of distributed denial of service (DDos) assaults came from overseas servers and affected the Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland brands.

Bovis Homes Group was one of the biggest risers on the FTSE 250 following reports that one of the company's biggest shareholders, Schroder Investment Management, has been pushing the company to merge with its rival Berkeley Group Holdings.

Bovis shares jumped 23.5p to 820.5p while Berkeley rose 42p to 2,829p. Elsewhere, Dixons Carphone fell 8.9p to 336.1p, Royal Bank of Scotland Group was down 5p to 215.9p, and BP was down 11.2p to 487.15p.

EUROPE

European stocks declined, while volatility surged, as Donald Trump ordered the US to withdraw from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.4 per cent at the close, after retreating as much as 0.7 per cent. Banks and energy shares fell the most, while gains in miners tempered the benchmark’s declines.

Trump also prepared to sign executive orders to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, according to an official familiar with the plans. Banks, among the best performers in the Stoxx 600 since Mr Trump’s election, were some of the biggest losers.

Energy shares also tumbled, tracking oil lower. The Stoxx 600 fell for a third straight day, the longest losing streak since before the US election. The benchmark is losing momentum this month, following its outperformance of the SandP 500 Index in December.

US

Mr Trump’s protectionist stance on trade lined shares up for their worst performance of the year so far.

Qualcomm dropped 12.6 per cent to $54.94 after Apple filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the chip supplier on Friday. Qualcomm was the biggest drag on the S&P and the Nasdaq, while Apple's stock was flat.

Halliburton fell 3.9 per cent after the world's number two oilfield services provider reported a bigger loss in the latest quarter.

Shares of auto parts retailers Autozone, Advance Auto Parts and O'Reilly fell between 2.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent after the NY Post said Amazon. com may start to sell auto parts. The online retailer's stock was up 0.1 per cent.

– Additional reporting: Reuters