European values suffer from tech sector sell-off while investors wary ahead of US inflation data

European shares were hurt by a steep sell-off in the technology sector on Monday, while investors turned wary in advance of a key US inflation report later this week that will shape expectations for interest rate cuts.

DUBLIN

The Dublin market kicked off the week in a downbeat note, in keeping with its European peers, as its closed Monday’s session trading marginally lower.

Banking shares were mixed, with Bank of Ireland losing 0.5 per cent before the close, while AIB added more than 2 per cent to its share price.

Among construction stocks, insulation specialist Kingspan saw its share price decline almost 3 per cent, while Cairn Homes also ended the day lower. Shares in the State’s biggest private landlord, Ires Reit, declined by 0.4 per cent.

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Agri services company Origin Enterprises lost 3 per cent by the close of the session.

LONDON

The UK’s benchmark FTSE 100 chiselled out modest gains on Monday supported by a rise in shares of non-life insurers.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 edged 0.1 per cent higher, while the midcap index FTSE 250 slid 0.4 per cent.

Non-life insurers advanced 1.9 per cent and were the top gainers for the day. The index was boosted by a 4.9 per cent jump in Admiral Group to the top of FTSE 100 after brokerage Berenberg raised its target price to 2,973p from 2,961p.

Construction and materials stocks led the declines among sectors, falling 1.6 per cent after UBS cut Breedon Group’s stock rating to “neutral” from “buy”, while Morgan Stanley cut its target price to 547p from 550p. Breedon’s shares slipped 5.2 per cent.

Among other movers, Currys slumped 5.4 per cent and Marks & Spencer added 1.4 per cent.

Vanquis Banking Group dropped 50.0 per cent to a record low after the lender warned about materially lower income in 2024 compared to market estimates.

EUROPE

The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.4 per cent lower, coming off an all-time high hit in the prior session.

The technology sector was the biggest drag on the STOXX 600, pulled 2 per cent lower by a 8.9 per cent decline in shares of BE Semiconductor.

Heavyweight chipmaker ASML also shed 4.2 per cent

In corporate updates, LEG’s shares rose 5.1 per cent after the German real estate firm reported full-year results and said it would propose a higher-than-expected dividend.

Shares of Telecom Italia shed 4.6 per cent after publication of details of the cash flow and debt level of the venture created by the planned sale of its fixed-line network failed to convince investors, who also sold off heavily last week.

Shares in Italian regional utility A2A dropped 3.6 per cent upon the signing of a $1.3 billion deal agreement to buy some electricity distribution networks from Enel.

NEW YORK

Wall Street’s main stock indexes slipped on Monday, as investors awaited key inflation data this week that could offer clues about the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy path following last week’s mixed jobs report.

At 15:16 Irish time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 137.47 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 38,585.22, the S&P 500 was down 19.31 points, or 0.38 per cent, at 5,104.38, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 53.22 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 16,031.89.

Meta Platforms shed 4 per cent, leading losses among megacap growth and technology peers.

Artificial intelligence darling Nvidia slipped 0.4 per cent in volatile trading, following a 5.5 per cent drop on Friday. Chip peers Advanced Micro Devices and Broadcom slid close to 3 per cent each, while the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index lost 1.5 per cent.

Boeing fell 3.6 per cent after Alaska Airlines said on Saturday it was co-operating with the US department of justice in a criminal investigation into a Boeing 737 Max blowout on one of its flights in January. — Additional reporting: Reuters

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