European shares ended Monday’s session flat, constrained by a drop in luxury stocks, while stalled US-Iran peace negotiations drove oil prices higher and also kept investors cautious.
Investors were contending with the stalemate in the Middle East, where hopes of an imminent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz were dashed after US president Donald Trump rejected Iran’s response to a peace proposal.
Brent crude futures rose 2.8 per cent, keeping investors concerned about inflation.
Dublin
The Irish market fell 0.7 per cent on Monday, with declines in heavyweights such as Kerry and Glanbia dragging the index lower.
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Kerry Group shed 2.2 per cent on Monday, while food group Glanbia declined 0.56 per cent. Insulation specialist Kingspan was 0.5 per cent lower.
Among travel and leisure stocks, airline Ryanair was 2 per cent off the pace, with ferry group Irish Continental down 1.2 per cent.
Banking shares climbed, with Bank of Ireland almost 1 per cent higher and AIB gaining 0.15 per cent. Insurer FBD added 0.3 per cent.
London
The UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 rose on Monday as mining shares jumped and Airtel Africa hit a record, helping the index defy escalating risk-off sentiment across global markets.
The commodity-heavy FTSE 100 index closed 0.36 per cent higher, while the midcap FTSE 250 index slipped 0.18 per cent.
Airtel Africa climbed 14.5 per cent to a record and was the biggest gainer on the FTSE 100. The board of the company’s parent, Bharti Airtel, is scheduled to meet later this week to weigh options, including a possible consolidation or acquisition of stakes in its subsidiaries, including Airtel Africa.
Mining stocks Anglo American and Rio Tinto were also among the gainers, rising 3.9 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively.
Metal miners rose 3.6 per cent, while the personal goods sector fell 3 per cent.
Compass Group rose 2.4 per cent after it raised its 2026 profit outlook, betting on demand for workplace dining and new contract wins.
Europe
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed little changed at 612.79 points. Regional indexes moved in different directions, with Italian stocks edging 0.8 per cent higher, while France’s Cac 40 slipped 0.7 per cent.
Luxury stocks led declines among sectors. LVMH lost more than 4.4 per cent, while Hermes and Burberry fell more than 3.3 per cent each.
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Offsetting losses was a 2.6 per cent jump in miners tracking higher precious metal prices.
Among other movers, Delivery Hero jumped more than 18 per cent after Dutch technology investor Prosus sold a 5 per cent stake in the German food-delivery group to activist investor Aspex Management for roughly €335 million.
New York
US equities resumed their advanced midmorning Monday, as strong earnings reports spurred bullish Wall Street strategists to raise their targets on the S&P 500 this year despite lingering concerns about the duration of the Iran war.
The S&P 500 rose 0.2 per cent at 11.19am in New York, led by the energy and materials sectors. Nvidia contributed the most to the index’s gain on Monday as ongoing strength in chip stocks buoyed the US benchmark.
Qualcomm and Micron Technology were among the top performers in the benchmark. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 edged up 0.1 per cent, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased earlier losses to trade little changed.
Morgan Stanley warned on Monday that the oil market is in a “race against time” and that prices could move sharply higher if the Strait of Hormuz remains closed into June. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
