US stocks retreated yesterday from the previous session’s rally, although major indices were headed for a positive first quarter.
The European Central Bank’s €1 trillion economic stimulus programme, launched last month, has prompted investors to pile into euro zone shares on bets that currency weakness, low borrowing costs and cheap oil will boost European companies’ profits.
DUBLIN
Shares on the Dublin market tried to rally a little toward the close yesterday, but there was not a huge volume traded on the day. The Iseq index closed down 1.34 per cent, at 6,019.49.
Aryzta fell 7.5 per cent in Dublin yesterday, to finish at €58. The decline in shares followed news that the company had acquired a 49 per cent stake in French food business Picard for €446.6million, a deal which one Dublin analyst said the market was not impressed with.
Bank of Ireland tumbled 7.8 per cent to 35 cent after Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings sold a 2.9 per cent stake.
Providence Resources rose 5.26 per cent, on light volumes, to close at 40 cent.
It was a good day for Glanbia, which climbed 2.07 per cent to €17.27, and Datalex, which jumped 5.71 per cent to finish at €1.85.
Ryanair was also a strong performer, climbing 1.9 per cent to €11.13.
EUROPE
European shares fell yesterday, taking a breather from their recent sharp rally, but recorded big gains for the quarter with Germany’s DAX posting its strongest first-quarter gain since its creation in 1988.
Italian online fashion retailer Yoox has agreed to buy Net- a-Porter, its upmarket rival, in an all-share deal that creates an industry leader in the booming online luxury market, with combined sales of €1.3 billion.
Net-a-Porter's owner Richemont will receive 50 per cent of the combined Yoox Net-a- Porter Group but its voting rights will be capped at 25 per cent. Yoox management will effectively be in charge of the combined business and Richemont will take a back seat. Its shares closed down 2.1 per cent.
Investors were booking profits on car stocks, the sector which has risen the most since the start of the year. BMW fell 1.3 per cent and Renault dipped 1.5 per cent.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index lost 0.6 per cent to 397.3 at the close of trading in London, trimming its best first-quarter rally since 1998.
LONDON
UK stocks dropped the most in three weeks, trimming their biggest quarterly advance in more than a year. Miners and energy shares declined, with
Anglo American
,
BHP Billiton
and
BG Group
falling more than 2.5 per cent.
Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco lost at least 3 per cent on a report that US regulators may block a merger between two American peers. Kingfisher gained 4.3 per cent after saying it would close 60 stores and set up a new management team.
The FTSE 100 Index fell 1.7 per cent, to 6,733.04, erasing earlier gains of as much as 0.3 per cent.
US
US stocks declined amid a retreat among health-care and industrial companies, trimming a ninth straight quarterly advance for the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index. The Nasdaq Biotechnology Index slipped 2.2 per cent, paring its best quarterly gain since 2013.
Caterpillar
and
Boeing
fell at least 1.6 per cent.
Charter Communications climbed 5.3 per cent after agreeing to buy a majority stake in Bright House Networks for $10.4 billion.
The SandP 500 lost 0.9 per cent to 2,067.89 in New York, while marking its longest quarterly winning streak since 1998. The
Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 200.19 points, or 1.1 percent, to 17,776.12.
The Nasdaq Composite Index, down 0.9 per cent, posted its longest quarterly winning streak ever – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters
