European shares declined on Monday, following a sharp rebound in the previous session, as investors awaited progress on possible United States-Iran talks in advance of the expiry of the two-week ceasefire.
DUBLIN
The Irish market declined more than 1 per cent on the opening day of the week, as fears that the US-Iran ceasefire could collapse weighed on sentiment.
Bank of Ireland fell more than 1 per cent, while AIB was broadly flat. Insurer FBD was up almost 1.5 per cent.
Insulation specialist Kingspan was 1.4 per cent lower, while Glenveagh Homes was down 2.4 per cent and Cairn Homes declined 2.6 per cent. Landlord Irish Residential Properties was down 1.5 per cent.
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Travel stocks were hit amid ongoing uncertainty in fuel supplies and crude prices jumped. Ryanair was down more than 2.8 per cent, while Irish Continental Group declined 1.6 per cent to €6.30.
LONDON
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.6 per cent, while the midcap FTSE 250 slipped 1.2 per cent.
Heavyweight bank Barclays was down 2.2 per cent, while HSBC dipped 1.1 per cent, bringing the broader banks index 1.7 per cent lower.
Precious metal miners Fresnillo and Hochschild fell about 2 per cent, tracking a decline in gold and silver prices.
British Airways owner IAG was down 2.8 per cent as crude prices jumped, while oil giants BP and Shell rose more than 2 per cent each, tracking gains in oil prices.
AstraZeneca said on Monday its experimental treatment showed a “meaningful reduction” in moderate-to-severe flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in a late-stage trial. Shares were down 1.1 per cent.
Shares of luxury handbag maker Mulberry climbed 7.5 per cent after it reported higher annual revenue. Meanwhile, engineering firm Renishaw gained 6.2 per cent after it raised its full-year profit forecast.
EUROPE
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed down 0.8 per cent at 621.46 points. Other major regional markets also fell, with France’s CAC and Germany’s DAX down 1.1 per cent each.
The move comes after Friday’s optimism, which saw the Stoxx 600 jump more than 1 per cent to post its fourth straight weekly rise after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz open.
Energy shares gained 1.6 per cent as crude prices surged. France’s TotalEnergies gained between 1.8 per cent and 2.9 per cent.
On the flip side, the travel and leisure sector led declines with a 2.4 per cent fall, bearing the brunt of higher energy costs and rising geopolitical tensions.
Airline stocks slid between 2.2 per cent and 3.1 per cent.
Aerospace and defence shares also weighed on the index, with Rolls-Royce and Safran down 3.7 per cent and 3.9 per cent respectively.
Banks and luxury stocks dropped about 2 per cent each.
Meanwhile, Spain’s energy minister said the country would actively participate in a potential European Union plan to share jet fuel stocks and sees joint purchases as an option.
Among other shares, Renishaw rose 6.2 per cent after the engineering firm raised its 2026 revenue and profit forecasts.
Loomis fell 5 per cent after Goldman Sachs downgraded the cash logistics company’s shares to “neutral” from “buy”.
NEW YORK
Wall Street’s main indexes retreated on Monday, after a stunning rally last week, as renewed US-Iran tensions threatened a collapse of the two-week ceasefire and dented investor sentiment.
Oil prices jumped 5 per cent on Monday, lifting the energy sector on the benchmark S&P 500 up 0.9 per cent.
At 11.41am ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.12 per cent the S&P 500 lost 0.33 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 0.55 per cent.
Tech stocks were the biggest weights on the index, with chipmakers at the helm of losses. The Philadelphia SE Semiconductor index lost 0.2 per cent.
Countering some losses was a 4 per cent gain in Marvell Technology after a report said Alphabet’s Google was in talks with the chipmaker to develop two new chips to run AI models more efficiently. – Additional reporting by Reuters
