The dollar slipped and a gauge of global equity markets slid from record highs on Monday as investors waited to see whether an expected jump in US earnings will justify stock prices already trading at very high premiums.
Dublin
Euronext Dublin finished the day down just under 1 per cent, dragged mainly by low budget airline Ryanair which was down 3.5 per cent.
The airline was in line with its peers, as EasyJet dropped 3.8 per cent ahead of results being published on Wednesday. "Ryanair had a profit warning last week for the first quarter of the year, which may have had a role," noted one trader. "It's down near recent lows."
Elsewhere, home builder Glenveagh Properties was down 2 per cent, while in the food sector Glanbia shed nearly 1 per cent after it announced the end of its share buyback scheme.
In the construction sector, building materials group CRH gave up 0.75 per cent after a strong performance last week on the back of US president Joe Biden's stimulus plan. "There was a bit of profit-taking today," said one trader.
Among the banks, AIB was up 3 per cent following a weak finish to last week. Its peer Bank of Ireland followed suit, ending the day up 2.25 per cent.
London
London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Monday, as heavyweight mining stocks slipped amid a drop in metal prices and a stronger pound weighed on the export-heavy index, while shares of drug developer C4X Discovery surged after a licensing deal with Sanofi.
The blue-chip index ended 0.4 per cent lower after recording its best weekly performance since early January on Friday.
Miners Glencore, BHP Group and Anglo American fell between 0.9 per cent and 1.8 per cent and were the top drags on the index, tracking lower metal prices.
The domestically focussed mid-cap FTSE 250 index dropped 0.4 per cent even as England’s shops, pubs, gyms and hairdressers reopened after three months of strict winter lockdown.
C4X Discovery jumped nearly 8 per cent after the drug developer signed an exclusive licensing deal worth up to $492.12 million with French drugmaker Sanofi to develop an oral therapy for treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Hammerson dropped 2.9 per cent after it confirmed that it was in talks for a possible sale of its retail parks portfolio to Canadian private equity player Brookfield Asset Management.
AstraZeneca fell 0.9 per cent and was the third biggest drag on the FTSE 100 as data from a late-stage study to test whether its diabetes drug Farxiga could treat patients hospitalised with Covid-19 and at risk of developing serious complications fell short of its main goals.
Europe
European stocks fell from all-time highs as investors booked profits ahead of the quarterly corporate earnings season, while two French utility companies surged on news of a merger deal after months of wrangling.
Shares of Veolia and Suez surged 9.7 per cent and 7.7 per cent after the waste and water management companies agreed on a merger deal worth nearly €13 billion.
The benchmark pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended about 0.5 per cent lower after closing at a record high on Friday, with technology, travel and leisure and commodity stocks leading declines.
Germany’s Dax and France’s Cac 40 closed little changed, while Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 0.19 per cent.
New York
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones indexes retreated from record levels as investors geared up for the start of the corporate reporting season and a key inflation report later this week.
A pullback in the benchmark 10-year bond yield from 14-month highs in April eased worries about higher borrowing costs, helping richly valued technology stocks gain ground and drive the S&P 500 and the Dow to record levels.
Tesla rose 2.7 per cent after Canaccord Genuity upgraded the electric-car maker's shares to "buy" and said the company could become "the brand" in energy storage.
US shares of Alibaba jumped nearly 9 per cent after the ecommerce company said it does not expect any material impact from the antitrust crackdown in China that will push it to overhaul how it deals with merchants. (Additional reporting: Agencies)
