European shares were hit by the continuing uncertainty caused by Us president Donald Trump’s tariff threats over his desire to “acquire” Greenland.
The tensions have dented sentiment amid a positive start to the year, with investors believing Europe is vulnerable to higher tariffs, but that defence and infrastructure spending could soften the blow on the markets.
Dublin
The Iseq All-Share index underperformed against regional comparators on Tuesday, falling 0.89 per cent to 12,872.65.
Insurance group FBD Holdings Plc topped the index, gaining 2.51 per cent to reach €16.35. That positive movement was not enough to keep the index out of the red, as a series of major components fell.
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In the news, Ryanair fell 1.18 per cent to €28.49 amid an ongoing saga between chief executive Michael O’Leary and Tesla owner Elon Musk. Mr Musk held a poll on whether he should purchase the company and oust its chief executive.
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Insulation and building materials specialist Kingspan Group dropped 2.05 per cent to a share price of €69.35. The company was joined in the red by bankers AIB and Bank of Ireland, which each fell 0.69 per cent on the day.
London
The UK’s FTSE 100 logged its steepest one-day fall in close to two weeks on Tuesday amid rising trade uncertainty. The blue-chip index closed down 0.72 per cent.
In London, pharmaceutical stocks fell 1.6 per cent. AstraZeneca fell 2.6 per cent, after the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said it would delist its American Depositary Shares and debt securities from Nasdaq.
Conversely, precious metals miners rose 1.8 per cent, as gold vaulted past $4,700 an ounce for the first time, while silver hovered near record highs as Trump’s tariff threats sparked a flight to safe-haven assets.
Miners have been among the biggest drivers of the FTSE 100’s positive start to 2026, driving it to record highs.
Europe
European shares touched their lowest in nearly two weeks on Tuesday, as mounting unease over Mr Trump’s tariffs threat over Greenland hurt optimism from earlier in the month.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.7 per cent lower, marking its biggest two-day drop in two months.
While some remain sceptical about the extent to which Mr Trump will follow through on his threats, investors are on edge as the US president has shown little sign of softening his rhetoric.
In company news, French automaker Renault Group’s shares rose 2.2 per cent after it said sales volumes had risen 3.2 per cent in 2025.
Oil major TotalEnergies was up 1.4 per cent, as the company said it expects lower oil and liquefied natural gas sales in the fourth quarter of 2025, but stronger margins on refining fuels.
Britain’s Wise jumped 16 per cent on robust third-quarter results, while Qiagen gained 12.4 per cent after a report said it is considering strategic options amid fresh interest.
Luxury group LVMH shares fell 2.2 per cent. Mr Trump threatened to slap a 200 per cent tariff on French wines and champagne to push French president Emmanuel Macron to join his Board of Peace initiative.
New York
Wall Street’s main indexes started the holiday-truncated week on a dour note as investors were spooked by the Greenland-related tariff threats from Mr Trump against Europe.
The Nasdaq broke below its 50-day moving average – an important technical threshold – while the S&P 500 hovered at the edge.
Critical Metals, which has a strategic presence in Greenland, slipped 2.7 per cent.
Earnings season is also kicking into a higher gear, with several industry bellwethers set to report their quarterly earnings this week.
Netflix gained 0.6 per cent after switching to an all-cash offer for Warner Bros Discovery’s studio and streaming assets, without increasing the $82.7 billion bid.
The streaming giant, due to report its quarterly earnings after the bell, was the only stock in the mega-cap FAANG group of tech stocks – Meta, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google – to trade in the green.
Industrial bellwether 3M tumbled 8.5 per cent after forecasting annual adjusted profit a touch below Wall Street expectations, while Fastenal fell 3.8 per cent after missing fourth-quarter revenue estimates. – Additional reporting Reuters
