Stocks plunge on gloomy global outlook and Ebola concerns

Global equities prices fell yesterday and oil slipped to near 27-month lows as the International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global growth and German data disappointed. The data showed German industrial production contracted the most in more than five years in August.

European shares slid to a seven-week low with Ebola concerns hitting travel and leisure stocks.

DUBLIN

Stocks on the Irish market veered into the red yesterday amid grim economic data from Germany and fears over the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

One stockbroker described the day as “very disappointing”, with nearly every stock falling. The Iseq index closed down 2.6 per cent or 126 points lower at 4,692.

It was an especially bad day for the airlines, with Ryanair plunging almost 5 per cent to €7.53 and Aer Lingus sliding 2.1 per cent to €1.42.

CRH finished off the day a little worse than most of its peers, down 2.42 per cent to €17.37.

Paddy Power was among the few companies that ended the day relatively unscathed, falling less than 1 per cent to €57.75.

LONDON

Britain’s top share index pulled back yesterday, with travel and leisure stocks hit by concerns that the spread of Ebola outside Africa could hurt air travel and the tourism business. The FTSE 100 Index was led down by a 3 per cent drop in the UK travel and leisure index on news that four people had been hospitalised in Spain after the first Ebola transmission outside Africa.

Airline stocks such as British Airways’ owner IAG, easyJet, cruise operator Carnival, tour operator TUI Travel and Intercontinental Hotels Group, dropped by between 3.7 and 6.9 per cent – among the top decliners on the FTSE 100 index.

A decline in healthcare stocks also weighed on the FTSE 100 Index. GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca and Shire slipped at least 1.4 per cent as Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on European healthcare stocks.

It was a good day for Cairn Energy which advanced 2 per cent. The Scottish oil explorer said it has discovered oil at its FAN-1 well, off Senegal.

The FTSE 100 fell 68.07 points, or 1 per cent, to 6,495.58 at the close in London.

EUROPE

European stocks fell with oil as the IMF cut its outlook for global growth and German industrial production plunged. Market bets on a European economic recovery faded as the IMF downgraded its forecasts for Germany, France and Italy.

Travel and health-care companies led declines on the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Qiagen, which makes diagnostic tools for medical treatments, slipped 1.4 per cent to €17.83.

Deutsche Bank slipped 2.4 per cent to €26.56. The New York Times reported US prosecutors are discussing whether to press the German lender to plead guilty to interest-rate rigging charges.

The Stoxx 600 fell 1.5 per cent to 330.85 at the close of trading. Germany’s DAX Index closed down 1. 3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 Index slid 1.8 per cent.

NEW YORK

US stocks declined in early trading yesterday, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index falling a second day, as the International Monetary Fund cuts it growth forecast and warned of “frothy” equities amid signs of slowing growth in Europe.

Boeing lost 1.2 per cent to $124.71 and Caterpillar was down 1.4 per cent to $96.66 in early trading. Delta Air Lines fell 1.3 per cent to pace declines among carriers.

Agco tumbled 8.7 per cent to lead industrial shares lower after cutting its full-year earnings forecast. The world’s third-largest maker of agricultural equipment cut its forecast because of lower sales in all regions and the stronger dollar.

SodaStream shares fell 21.6 per cent at one stage.

Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters