Ryanair, FBD and banks weigh on Iseq as Ophelia hits Ireland

The Iseq index in Dublin stood out as a weak spot in a broadly flat European market as investors speculated on the cost of Hurricane Ophelia to the Irish economy.

The benchmark Irish equities index lost 0.4 per cent to 6,813.52, while the pan-European Stoxx 600 index ended the session unchanged. However, Spain’s Ibex index put in another weak performance, falling 0.8 per cent, as the country’s political crisis continued to weigh.

DUBLIN

Ryanair dropped 1.9 per cent to €16.60 as the company and other carriers, including Aer Lingus and British Airways, cancelled flights as Ophelia slammed into Ireland.

Insurer FBD Holdings fell as much as 4.4 per cent, though it closed down 1 per cent at €7.92 as analysts concluded that the company's losses as a result of the hurricane may be cushioned by its new reinsurance deal, which leaves it less exposed to catastrophes.

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Banks were also out of sorts, with Permanent TSB falling 1 per cent to €1.98, while AIB lost 0.8 per cent and Bank of Ireland declined by 0.4 per cent as investors considered the cost of Ophelia to the wider economy. All three closed branches on Monday.

Bucking the trend, Irish Residential Properties Reit added 5.9 per cent to €1.60, while Aryzta gained 2.3 per cent to €27.00.

LONDON

The FTSE 100 Index closed down 0.1 per cent to 7,526.97, with medical equipment maker Convatec chalking up the biggest fall on the top flight after seeing its third-quarter performance "severely impacted" by supply issues, and lower-than-anticipated revenue from new products.

Shares in the group plunged more than 26 per cent as it now expects full-year organic revenue growth to be between 1 per cent and 2 per cent.

Sterling appeared to shrug off the latest concerns surrounding Brexit. London-listed miners were among the biggest risers following the latest slew of inflation data from China showing its consumer price index rose 1.6 per cent in September from a year ago in line with expectations. Shares in Antofagasta and Glencore climbed.

Away from the top tier, online betting company Jackpotjoy was up 0.9 per cent after calling time on its chief executive just nine months after floating on the London Stock Exchange.

EUROPE

Spanish stocks lagged behind a broadly flat European market on Monday as the Catalonia crisis and a profit warning from renewables energy firm Siemens Gamesa weighed.

Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont failed to clarify whether he had declared independence from Spain last week, possibly paving the way for the central government to take control of the wealthy region.

Spanish banks Caixa, Sabadell and BBVA took some of the heat, falling between 1.7 and 2.8 per cent but Siemens Gamesa was the top loser, down 6.3 per cent after it warned on profit on Friday.

On the winners' side, France pharmaceutical group Ipsen closed with a 6.1 per cent rise after reporting positive news on a liver cancer clinical trial.

Germany' construction company Hochtief rose 3.5 per cent on the back of a broker upgrade to "buy" from Bankhaus Lampe on prospects of a potential acquisition of Spanish motorway firm Abertis in a takeover battle with Italy's Atlantia.

NEW YORK

US stocks crept up in late morning trading on Monday as surging Treasury yields led to a rebound in bank stocks after three straight days of losses.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yields jumped after Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen reaffirmed the central bank's view on gradual interest rate hike and a stronger-than-expected US business conditions index.

The Dow Jones industrial average was 0.1 per cent, at 22,903.54, while the S&P 500 gained almost 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite edged 0.2 per cent higher.

JPMorgan and Bank of America rose about 1.5 per cent, leading the gainers on the S&P financial index.

Apple gained after KeyBanc upgraded the stock to "overweight".

Adobe slipped after Deutsche Bank cut rating on the Photoshop maker's stock to "hold".

- (Additional reporting: Reuters, Press Association.)