Corcoran’s exit from Paddy Power sends stock tumbling

European markets were more or less steady on Monday following Friday’s surge. Strong performances from miners boosted London’s blue chip index

DUBLIN

News that Paddy Power chief executive Breon Corcoran is leaving the company ensured that there was no bank holiday lull in Dublin. The stock tumbled 5.17 per cent to €83.45 having been more than 8 per cent down at one point in early trade.

Dealers said that the news “came from the left field” taking the market by surprise. More than 1.3 million of its shares changed hands in Dublin on Monday.

Elsewhere, Bank of Ireland was strong adding 1.06 per cent to €7.074 on volumes of around 800,000 shares. AIB was quieter, ticking up 0.82 per cent to €4.85.

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There was plenty of activity in Bulmer’s cider maker, C&C’s shares, which were off about 1.4 per cent at one point on Monday before regaining ground and closing 0.07 per cent up at €3.03. More than 1.3 million of its shares traded in Dublin.

Hotel group Dalata had a good day, climbing 2.58 per cent to €4.925. Insulation specialist Kingspan added 1.85 per cent to €28.905.

Amongst the other bigger companies, ingredients and convenience foods group, Kerry was up 0.6 per cent at €76.14 on light volumes. Building materials giant CRH was relatively quiet, gaining 0.55 per cent to €29.715.

LONDON

Gains amongst miners and commodity businesses more than compensated for a slump in Paddy Power Betfair’s price, which ended 4.67 per cent down at 7,550 pence sterling. The stock actually hit its 12-month-low in London of 7,240p during trade in London earlier in the day.

The two sectors contributed more than 20 points to the index and lifting it to a seven-week high. Shares in Glencore, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American all rose between 2.3 per cent to 3.1 per cent, helped by firmer iron ore prices.

Shares in Anglo rose more than 3 per cent, or 39.5p to 1,310p, while Glencore climbed 8.8p to 346.6p and Rio Tinto was 91p higher at 3,637p.

Oil and gas heavyweights BP and Royal Dutch Shell gained 1.1 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.

Outside of the blue chips, British mid-caps also rose 0.1 per cent, helped by gains in the materials sector and financials.

Monday's fallers included Pearson, down 25p to 630.5p, Mediclinic International down 18.5p to 737.5p, and Merlin Entertainments down 11.2p to 478.2p.

EUROPE

Miner Arcellormittal climbed 4.67per cent to €23.20 rose as its sector proved popular with investors on Monday.

PostNL fell 5.1 per cent after predicting that full-year operating income will be near the lower end of a previously forecast range.

Data on Monday showed German industrial production unexpectedly slipped in June. That follows evidence last week that momentum at the start of the third quarter lagged behind that of France, Italy and Spain for the first time in 12 years.

Germany’s DAX Index slid 0.3 per cent on Monday. The measure has turned into one of the biggest laggards among global peers since a June record.

The Stoxx 600 is down about 3.6 per cent from a peak in May, amid bets that the strengthening euro will trim profit growth for the region’s exporters.

NEW YORK

The Dow was little changed in late morning trading on Monday after eking out another record high at open, while the Nasdaq was boosted by gains in tech stocks. The rise in Dow put the index on track to close higher for the 10th straight day.

Oil majors Chevron and Exxon were down about 0.25 per cent. Shares of United Technologies were down 2.18 per cent following a report that the company had submitted an offer to buy aircraft component manufacturer Rockwell Collins. Rockwell was up 4.18 per cent.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was down 1.29 per cent after the company reported a drop in second-quarter profit. Tyson Foods rose 4.77 per cent after the number one US meat processor reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and sales.

Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters