Shares in mainland Europe rise to a seven-year high

Shares in mainland Europe rose to their highest level for seven years but British and US stocks eased some of their recent gains. In Dublin, the Iseq overall index gave up 1.08 per cent to close at 5,893.17.

DUBLIN Bookmaker Paddy Power was the focus of attention after it unveiled plans to return €392 million to investors to the tune of €8 per share and increased its full-year dividend by 13 per cent. The stock gained 8.41 per cent to close €5.65 stronger at €72.80.

“The market was happy to get help with the capital distribution. That was the main driver today, as well as underlying upgrades in the business,” said a trader in a Dublin brokerage.

The trader also said the market was encouraged by “quite strong” results from fruit distributor Total Produce, which increased its final dividend by 6 per cent to 1.763 cent a share.

The stock advanced by 2.29 per cent to finish at €1.11½.

“It looks like concerns about embargo from Russia haven’t really fed in [to the firm’s performance], ” said the trader. LONDON Britain’s blue-chip share index gave up early gains for a third straight session on Tuesday and dropped back from record highs as prospects for a takeover of Smith & Nephew dimmed and its shares slumped.

Smith & Nephew fell 5.7 per cent to 1,144p after US firm Stryker announced a $2 billion share buyback programme, making it increasingly unlikely it would consider a bid for the UK medical equipment firm.

Barclays fell 3.2 per cent after saying it had set aside an extra £750 million for potential fines arising from allegations of manipulation in the foreign exchange market. Its annual profits still rose 12 per cent thanks to cost-cutting.

Glencore fell 3.1 per cent after the mining company and commodity trader took an impairment charge of $1.1 billion on lower commodity prices. Core profit fell 2 per cent.

The FTSE 100 index was down 51.51 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 6,889.13 points at the close, not far from a record high of 6,974.26 points set in the previous session. Analysts said the index would need to consolidate after breaking through to the new highs a week ago. EUROPE European shares rose close to seven-year highs as better than expected German retail sales further buoyed investors days before the European Central Bank kicks off a €1 trillion bond buying programme.

Euro zone government bond yields were slightly higher but remained near record lows as investors anticipated the ECB’s purchases.

The central bank will finalise the details of its scheme at its meeting tomorrow.

German retail sales rose 2.9 per cent month-on-month and 5.3 per cent year-on-year in January, more than economists had forecast, helping lift the DAX stock index 0.2 per cent.

Merger speculation in the Portuguese banking sector also supported European market. Shares in Banco BPI and Banco Comercial Portugues were up 6-8 per cent.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index was up 0.1 per cent at 1,562.36 points, just off Monday’s seven-year high.

WALL STREET US stocks fell in early trade after a weak car-sales report pulled the Dow and S&P back from their latest records and the Nasdaq dipped below 5,000 the day after scaling the milestone level for the first time in 15 years.

Investors exercised caution after a strong run for major indexes in February and ahead of a slew of economic data later this week, culminating with the monthly payrolls report.

For the second year in a row, tough winter weather slowed US vehicle sales in February, with several major car-makers missing analysts’ projections and dampening bullish expectations.

“The air gets a little thin up at new highs and you need a driver to keep it going, and one of the things we are not getting as a driver today is solid auto sales,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Wunderlich Securities in New York.

US-listed Fiat Chrysler shares fell 3.7 per cent to $15.24 while Ford Motor declined 2.8 per cent to $16.10. General Motors dropped 0.23 per cent to $37.51.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 130.37 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 18,158.26, the S&P 500 lost 16.29 points, or 0.77 per cent, to 2,101.1.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 47.12 points, or 0.94 per cent, to 4,960.97.

The Nasdaq decline was led by Microsoft while Visa weighed most on the Dow.

– Additional reporting Bloomberg, Reuters