European shares fell on Tuesday on the back of poor performances from the banking and defence sectors, as uncertainty continues to weigh on investors. London bucked the European trend to close in the green.
Dublin
The Iseq All-Share index started the third quarter of the year in the red, down 87.71 points to 11,334.00.
The Dublin stock exchange’s losses were led by Kenmare Resources which dropped 3.61 per cent. Further developments around a possible acquisition of the firm by former boss Michael Carville emerged in recent days.
In a mixed day for the banks, AIB fell 2.79 per cent to €6.79, joined by Bank of Ireland which dropped 1.66 per cent to €11.885, while Permanent TSB was steady. Defensive stock Uniphar plc, the healthcare services group, dropped 2.27 per cent to €3.665, while Ryanair dipped 0.83 per cent.
RM Block
Of the big caps, Glanbia were the winners on the day, rising 2.64 per cent to €12.83 as its share price continues to recover.
LONDON
London’s internationally oriented FTSE 100 rose 0.28 per cent, while the domestically-focused midcap index added 0.54 per cent. Midcap stocks ended June by logging their best quarter in over four years while the blue-chip index logged monthly losses.
Drugmaker AstraZeneca’s shares rose 2.7 per cent after multiple sources told the Times that chief executive Pascal Soriot was considering moving the company’s listing to the US.
Traders are currently pricing in a 78 per cent chance of a rate cut by the Bank of England in August.
Precious metal mining stocks led sectoral gains, rising 2.4 per cent as safe-haven gold jumped over 1 per cent on the weaker dollar and US tariff uncertainty.
Endeavour Mining and Fresnillo added 2.8 per cent and 1 per cent, respectively. Hochschild Mining gained 5.3 per cent. Losses were led by aerospace and defence index, which declined 2.2 per cent. Rolls-Royce fell 2.9 per cent and Babcock lost 2.5 per cent.
Food retailer Sainsbury’s shares slid 1.1 per cent despite reporting a higher-than-expected rise in quarterly sales.
Standard Chartered Bank shares fell 2 per cent after liquidators for Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund 1MDB sued the bank in Singapore alleging fraud that led to more than $2.7 billion (€2.29) in losses more than 10 years ago.
In other news, Britain’s competition watchdog cleared Aviva’s £3.7 billion ($5.08 billion) takeover of smaller rival Direct Line that will create the UK’s largest home and motor insurer. Shares of Aviva were up 0.8 per cent, while those of Direct Line rose 0.5 per cent
Europe
European shares ended slightly lower on Tuesday, with industrials and banks the biggest drags as investors weighed uncertainty over US trade deals with the July tariff deadline fast approaching and discussions on a US tax bill.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed 0.2 per cent lower, coming off a more than 1 per cent fall for the month of June. Most regional bourses clocked declines, though UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 was an outlier with a 0.3 per cent rise.
Industrials led losses among the major STOXX subsectors with a 1.7 per cent fall.
Defence-related companies including Germany’s Rheinmetall, Sweden’s Saab and Italy’s Leonardo all fell more than 5 per cent each.
Banks also slid 1.3 per cent, with Germany’s Deutsche Bank down the most with a 3.6 per cent decline.
New York
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell from record highs in midafternoon trading on Tuesday, as Tesla shares were hit by a renewed spat between chief executive Elon Musk and US President Donald Trump, while better-than-expected economic data backed the US central bank’s patient stance on rate cuts.
Tesla dropped after Mr Trump threatened to cut off the billions of dollars in subsidies that Mr Musk’s companies get from the federal government, after Mr Musk revived his criticism of Mr Trump’s wide-ranging tax-cut and spending bill.
The major indexes were mixed, but technology stocks led the decline among the major S&P sectors, while material stocks and the healthcare sector climbed.
Shares of US-based casino operators rose after Macau reported a rise in June gambling revenue. Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands, as well as MGM Resorts International climbed. – Additional reporting, Reuters, PA.
