European shares retreat from 11-month highs as US stocks rise

US stocks opened higher, pushing up a gauge of global market indexes on Monday, as investors continued to be bullish on equities ahead of a speech from Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen, with oil prices and the dollar both little moved.

European shares retreated from 11-month highs with Italy's Monte dei Paschi leading banks lower on worries over a cash call, and Danone hit after the world's biggest yoghurt maker warned about sales growth.

DUBLIN

Trading volume was thin in Dublin on Monday, with the Iseq closing virtually unchanged at 6.494.86, down 0.6 points compared to Friday.

Bank of Ireland followed other European banking stocks down, losing 3 per cent to end the day at 23.6 cents. Permanent TSB ended 4.87 per cent lower at €2.60.

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European stocks fell, halting two straight weeks of gains

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Insurer FBD closed at €6.76, down 2 per cent, having recovered losses somewhat last week.

The European food sector performed strongly on Monday with the likes of Tate & Lyle gaining. Kerry was up over 3 per cent to €67.75 and Glanbia shares jumped 2 per cent to €15.67.

Hibernia Reit was also strong on the day, rising 2 per cent to €1.21. Other movers including drinks group C&C, up 1.8 per cent to €3.81, and Ryanair, down 1.8 per cent to €14.62.

LONDON

Britain’s top share index edged higher on Monday though falls among mining companies, and banks capped gains, while

Ashtead Group

was hit by a broker downgrade.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 0.1 per cent at 7,017.16 points at its close after a choppy session.

The index was led higher by a rise among more defensive stocks, including pharma firms Hikma and Mediclinic, as well as Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever as investors took profits in banking stock.

Ashtead Group dropped 4.8 per cent, the top FTSE 100 faller, after UBS downgraded the equipment rental firm to a "sell". UBS analysts said that pricing pressure was rising for Ashtead, and that they saw a limited benefit from any increase in US infrastructure spending.

Drax Group, Britain's largest coal power producer, jumped more than 8 per cent after an upgrade from SocGen to "buy" and the European Commission approved its conversion of a third power plant unit to biomass from coal.

EUROPE

Europe’s index of leading 300 shares retreated from Friday’s 11-month high and fell 0.09 per cent. Germany’s DAX index rose 0.2 per cent while France’s CAC slipped 0.22 per cent. Britain’s FTSE 100 edged up 0.08 per cent.

Italy's Monte dei Paschi fell more than 11 per cent as it made a last-ditch attempt to raise €5 billion by year-end and avoid a state bailout.

Elsewhere in the banking sector, Deutsche Bank fell 4.5 per cent and UniCredit was down 4.5 per cent.

Danone lost around 1.4 per cent. The French food group said it expected its 2016 sales growth to be slightly below its original targets due to a weaker-than-expected performance at its European dairy business.

NEW YORK

US stocks were higher on Monday in light trading, with the three major indexes hovering near record levels, driven by a rise in technology shares. The S&P tech index rose 0.94 per cent, leading the 11 major sectors.

Microsoft

,

Amazon

and

Apple

were up between 1 per cent and 1.8 per cent, providing the biggest boost to the Nasdaq and the S&P 500.

United Technologies rose 2.1 per cent, helping lift the Dow, after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "outperform" and increased its price target. Walt Disney was up 1.6 per cent at $105.60 after Bank of America Merrill Lynch added the stock to its US 1 list and said the company's shares were well positioned to outperform.

– Additional reporting: Reuters