Markets ease from record highs as investors look ahead to US inflation data

Stock markets took a breather on Monday as indices fell from their record highs of recent sessions. Euronext Dublin fell by 0.59 per cent, in line with losses across other indices globally.

Investors face an abbreviated trading week as many markets will be closed for Good Friday, the same day key US inflation data is due to be published.

Dublin

Euronext Dublin fell by 0.59 per cent on Monday, to close at 9,808.6.

Among the banks, AIB saw its share price gain 1.07 per cent to €4.54, while Bank of Ireland lost 2.35 per cent to close at €8.89 and Permanent TSB rose by 0.75 per cent to €1.34.

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Ryanair fell by 0.33 per cent to €20.93. The airline’s share price has surpassed €21 several times in the past week as chief executive Michael O’Leary is on track for a €100 million bonus if the share price exceeds €21 for 28 consecutive days.

Ireland’s two listed home builders declined, with Cairn Homes losing 2.25 per cent to close at €1.56 and Glenveagh Properties losing 1.42 per cent to close at €1.25.

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Meanwhile, building materials company Kingspan lost 1.52 per cent to close at €83, and packaging company Smurfit Kappa rose by 0.38 per cent to €41.88.

Food company Kerry Group fell by 1.30 per cent to €80.66, while peer Glanbia gained 0.50 per cent to a closing price of €18.10.

London

The export heavy FTSE 100 Index fell by 0.17 per cent on Monday, to close at 7,917.57. Meanwhile, the more domestically focused FTSE 250 Mid-Cap Index dropped by 0.56 per cent to 19,613.53.

Shares of Kingfisher gained 2.57 per cent, reversing earlier losses as the home improvements retailer warned on the outlook, and said current-year profit would fall short of analysts’ expectations.

Direct Line Insurance slumped 11.29 per cent to the bottom of the Mid-Cap Index, after Ageas abandoned its buyout plans for the British home and motor insurer following two failed attempts.

Ferrexpo jumped 7.82 per cent after the miner said operations at Ukrainian unit Ferrexpo Poltava Mining have been performing well.

Europe

The pan-European STOXX 600 Index remained almost flat on Monday, rising by just 0.04 per cent to 509.86. The index hit a lifetime high of 510.46 points on Friday.

Meanwhile, the French CAC 40 Index remained flat on Monday at 8,151.60, and the German DAX Index rose by 0.34 per cent to 18,268.29.

Investors are looking ahead to consumer price inflation data this week from France, Italy, Belgium and Spain, in advance of the overall EU CPI report next week.

Shares in European defence firms rose following a terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday evening that killed at least 137 people, in an assault claimed by Islamic State in Khorasan, which is the terror group’s Afghanistan affiliate. Dassault Aviation climbed 7.31 per cent, and Rheinmetall was up 1.48 per cent.

Swedish landlord SBB jumped 10.93 per cent after buying back a batch of bonds at a 60 per cent discount.

New York

Wall Street’s main indexes fell on Monday, as investors looked forward to key inflation data later this week.

The crucial February reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, is due on Friday.

Over the weekend, a report stated that China had introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors supplied by Intel and AMD from government personal computers and servers. Intel was down by Monday evening, while AMD had reversed earlier losses.

Boeing saw gains after it announced a broad management shake-up and said chief executive Dave Calhoun would step down from his position at the end of 2024.

Walt Disney also gained after Barclays upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “equal weight”.

United Airlines fell after the US Federal Aviation Administration said it was increasing its oversight of the company.

Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related stocks such as exchange operator Coinbase Global, crypto miner Riot Platforms and software firm MicroStrategy all gained, tracking the recovery in bitcoin.

— Additional reporting via Reuters/Bloomberg.

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