European shares subdued as investors track war in Ukraine

European shares were subdued at the close on Monday after choppy trading, and Wall Street dipped deeper into negative territory as investor concerns around fighting in Ukraine continued and US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell suggested a more aggressive tightening of monetary policy than previously anticipated.

DUBLIN

The Irish index of shares was marginally lower on Monday, tracking the subdued sentiment seen across Europe.

Building materials giant CRH saw its stock slip 1.4 per cent to €40.61, after ending last week on a high note.

Banking stocks were mixed, with AIB gaining half a per cent to close at €2.01, while Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB dipped by just under 1 per cent and 1.23 per cent respectively.

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Shares in Paddy Power Betfair owner Flutter were lower, declining almost 3.3 per cent to €11.60. That meant giving up some of the gains it made on Friday, when the company added 3.6 per cent to its stock price to close the week at €114.

Food group Glanbia rose 0.6 per cent to €11.32, while Kerry Group closed at €103.45, marginally lower on the day.

LONDON

Britain’s Ftse 100 closed higher on Monday as surging oil prices boosted energy stocks, although concerns about inflation and several broker downgrades kept a check on its overall gain.

The commodity-heavy index rose 0.5 per cent, hitting its highest level in more than two weeks, driven by gains in Shell and BP, which both gained about 4.1 per cent.

Glencore and Anglo American also rose as an Australia ban on exports of alumina and aluminium ores to Russia drove London aluminium prices up nearly 5 per cent.

Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group fell 0.6 per cent after it said it would sell its wealth management technology operations BETA+ for $1.1 billion to affiliates of Clearlake Capital Group and Motive Partners to cut its debt.

But energy consultant Inspired slumped 9.1 per cent after warning of a hit to earnings in case Russian state-owned energy firm Gazprom's British arm shuts down.

Balfour Beatty dropped 2.3 per cent after Morgan Stanley downgraded it to "underweight," while retail stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown fell 2.3 per cent after Jefferies cut it to "underperform".

EUROPE

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was flat after posting its biggest weekly percentage gain since November 2020 on Friday.

Investors were closely tracking the war in Ukraine, with European Union governments mulling an oil embargo on Russia as they gather this week with US president Joe Biden for a series of summits aimed at hardening their stance against Moscow.

The news sparked a rally in oil prices. Brent crude futures rose more than $3 to trade above $111 a barrel, lifting the European oil and gas sector by 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, France’s blue-chip index and Germany’s Dax fell 0.6 per cent each.

Data showed German producer prices maintained their record-breaking rise in February, jumping 25.9 per cent year on year mainly because of energy prices.

Among individual stocks, Julius Baer rose 0.6 per cent after it said it had credit exposure to a low-single-digit number of clients subject to the recently introduced sanctions on the Russian market.

NEW YORK

US stock indexes were weaker on Monday, giving back some of last week’s gains, and oil prices jumped, as investors refocused on risk as the war in Ukraine continued and the US Federal Reserve reiterated its commitment to raise interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 243.86 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 34,511.07; the S&P 500 lost 9.47 points, or 0.21 per cent, to 4,453.65; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 90.30 points, or 0.65 per cent, to 13,803.54.

Boeing shares fell about 4 per cent after one of its 737 jets crashed in China.

The US central bank must move “expeditiously” to bring too-high inflation to heel, Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said on Monday, adding that it could use bigger-than-usual interest rate hikes if needed to do so.