Stocks in Europe decline to end five-day advance

European stocks declined yesterday, breaking a five-day advance, as banks slid.

DUBLIN Permanent TSB's announcement that it is planning to seek a primary listing in Dublin as part of a plan to raise €400 million dominated news from the Irish Stock Exchange.

The mortgage lender plans to place new ordinary shares and will also request the government to sell some of its stock. The news knocked 15.17 per cent off its share price, which closed at €5.31.

Dealers said that the slide in its value was expected given that the company planned to issue new shares. “The important thing is that it is returning to the market,” said one. They also pointed out that the trades were extremely light, with just 17,000 of the bank’s shares changing hands yesterday.

Ingredients and convenience food group, Kerry, climbed 1.67 per cent to close at €67.50. Just over 385,000 of its shares were traded on the day.

Banana importer Fyffes had a good day, with its stock advancing 1.27 per cent to €1.195. It was up more than 2 per cent, pushing its past the €1.20 mark, at one point in afternoon trade.

Ryanair dipped 0.44 per cent to €11.34. The Irish carrier outperformed peers such as Easyjet, which was down 1.11 per cent at 1,871 pence sterling in London.

LONDON Britain's top equity index edged to within reach of record highs metals prices helped mining stocks rebound, while Barclays rose after it was named as a favourite stock by Credit Suisse.

Tullow Oil jumped 8.3 per cent to 367.5 pence sterling after Citigroup recommended buying the Irish-based exploration company's shares.

Citigroup raised its target price for the stock to 433 pence from 406 pence. Its analysts noted that recent refinancing and covenant amendments would provide increased financial flexibility to deliver on its near-term targets.

Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton led a rebound in miners, with gains of more than 2.8 per cent. Rio Tinto closed at 2860.5 pence while BHP Billiton ended the day 1,437 pence. Anglo American was up 4.1 per cent at 1,039.6 pence.

Aberdeen Asset Management fell 2.5 per cent to 496.1 pence after investment bank RBC cut its rating on the stock to "underperform" from "sector perform".

British bank Barclays rose 1.7 per cent to 263.9 pence, making it the best-performer on the FTSE 100, helping rival Royal Bank of Scotland to rise 1.4 per cent as well.

EUROPE Nokia slid 3.6 per cent after confirming talks to buy Alcatel-Lucent, which jumped 16 per cent. Banco Santander and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria dragged bank stocks to the biggest loss on the Stoxx Europe 600. The Stoxx 600 has rallied 20 per cent this year amid better-than-expected data including last week's German industrial production report.

Kuehne & Nagel International retreated 1.7 per cent. The world's biggest sea-freight forwarder said first-quarter earnings stagnated because of the stronger Swiss franc. Volkswagen and Daimler contributed the most to a decline in auto-related stocks.

A measure of energy stocks was one of just three of the 19 industry groups on the Stoxx 600 to advance, as oil rose for a fourth day amid speculation US production growth is slowing.

NEW YORK Energy companies helped to boost US shares, which moved higher early on Tuesday.

Norfolk Southern was the biggest decliner on the S&P 500, dropping 5.6 per cent to $98.95 a day after it forecast a surprise drop in its first-quarter earnings and revenue. JPMorgan Chase stock rose 1.3 per cent to $62.86.

Chevron climbed 2.45 per cent $108.94 as oil rose for a fourth day. Apache, Transocean and Diamond Offshore Drilling added at least 3.3 per cent. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 3 per cent.

Additional reporting, Bloomberg/Reuters