European stocks slip from record highs

European stocks slipped from record highs on Tuesday, but new data showed the region is recovering from the impact of Covid-19 restrictions.

DUBLIN

Ryanair slipped 2 per cent to €15.80 following what dealers said was "general weakness in the transport and leisure area" on Tuesday. "It's not an unusual move," said one.

The banks were weak also. Bank of Ireland slid 3 per cent to €5.074, while AIB lost 2.72 per cent to close at €2.363.

Index heavyweight building materials giant CRH, was marginally weaker, dipping 0.65 per cent to €44.15. Dealers noted that its industry generally was down across Europe.

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However, insulation specialist, Kingspan, which is due to report interim results this week, was one of the day's standouts, climbing 1.35 per cent to €96.44.

House-builder Cairn Homes fell 2.13 per cent to €1.102 ,while rival Glenveagh Properties closed 1.59 per cent down at 99 cent.

LONDON

BHP Group climbed 3.4 per cent to 2,358 pence sterling after the world's biggest miner posted its best annual profit in nearly a decade and said it would pay a record dividend.

The Anglo Australian group plans to shift its main listing to Sydney, depriving the blue chip FTSE100 index of one of its biggest names, although the London market will retain many of other large mining companies.

Online trading platform Plus500 jumped 5.1.1 per cent to 1,502.5p as it forecast annual revenue would be "significantly ahead" of analysts' estimates.

Aer Lingus and British Airways-owner International Consolidated Airlines' Group (IAG) , fell 3.19 per cent to 159.22p. Travel stocks fell out of favour on Tuesday. EasyJet shed 2 per cent to 789.2p.

Just Eat Takeaway. com's shares were snipping at the heels of BHP. It closed up 2.9 per cent at 6310p after revealing that UK orders soared 75 per cent to £135 million in the most recent six-month period.

Fulham Shore, which owns restaurant chains Franco Manca and Real Greek, said it is looking at 150 new sites for restaurants. Shares rose 1 per cent to 16.25p.

BT's shares dipped 1 per cent to 174.15p. It chose former FA and ITV boss Adam Crozier as its new chairman on Tuesday.

EUROPE

Dutch tech firm Prosus, which has a stake in Chinese tech giant Tencent, fell 3.2 per cent to €70.69, after it emerged that Beijing was subjecting local internet companies to tighter anti-trust scrutiny.

German airline Lufthansa slipped 1.25 per cent to €8.82 as sentiment towards travel stocks weakened. Air France KLM fared better, dipping 0.61 per cent to €3.93. Travel giant TUI fell 1.42 per cent in Frankfurt to €3.74.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was 0.1 per cent higher after the index marked its longest winning streak in over a decade. Many stocks dipped on the day, but strong economic data aided a few in gaining some ground.

Official figures showed the euro zone economy grew 2 per cent in the second quarter, confirming its earlier reading as the relaxation of coronavirus restrictions spurred economic activity after a brief recession. Investors believe the growth will continue through the current quarter.

US

Wall Street's main indices slid on Tuesday, weighed down by a decline in mega-cap technology-related stocks and a weak earnings report from Home Depot, while a mixed batch of data suggested an uneven US economic recovery.

Home Depot dropped 4.7 per cent after it missed Wall Street estimates for US same-store sales for the first time in two years as do-it-yourself projects during the height of the pandemic tapered off.

Heavyweight growth names Apple, Google-owner Alphabet, Facebook, Microsoft, Tesla and Amazon. com fell between 0.8 per cent and 4.2 per cent, pulling the S&P 500 and the Dow from record highs.

Data showed US retail sales fell 1.1 per cent in July amid weakness in purchases of motor vehicles, while a separate report from the Federal Reserve showed industrial output increased more than expected last month. – Additional reporting: Reuters