US markets in turmoil over Trump uncertainty

European shares fell on Thursday weighed down by Fiat Chrysler, which wiped out one sixth of its value in a late session slide after the United States accused the carmaker of excess diesel emissions.

US stock moved off their session lows by the afternoon, but were still set for their worst day this year as the lack of details on economic policy during president-elect Donald Trump’s press conference hit investor optimism.

London’s top-flight index, the FTSE 100, notched up its 11th consecutive record close as sterling dipped on news that UK prime minister Theresa May will deliver a major Brexit speech next Tuesday.

Dublin

The Iseq index of Irish shares finished the session 0.2 per cent into the red on Thursday.

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Tullow Oil, which maintains its main listing in London, was down almost 2 per cent, a day after chief executive Aidan Heavey announced he is to step down.

Aminex, another exploration firm, finished the session up 7 per cent on a couple of large trades.

Recruiter CPL Resources also performed poorly, finishing down 4.25 per cent.

Smurfit Kappa, the paper and packaging group, finished the day up almost 3 per cent, one of the brightest performances by a heavyweight stock.

Food distributor Total Produce had a disappointing day, down 7.5 per cent.

London

Marks & Spencer shares rose 4.5p to 344.9p as it revealed a 2.3 per cent rise in like-for-like sales in its home and embattled clothing division in the 13 weeks to December 31st – the first growth since the first three months of 2015.

Tesco shares fell by 2.75p to 206.05p. Analysts said investors were disappointed with third-quarter sales.

Shares in Primark-owner Associated British Foods fell 122p to 2,576p after warning that its operating profit margin would decline throughout the year as it grapples with the impact of the strong US dollar on input costs.

Europe

The STOXX 600 fell 0.7 per cent with the auto sector index leading sectoral fallers, dragged down by 16.1 per cent slump in Fiat Chrysler shares.

The US Environmental Protection Agency accused Fiat Chrysler of using software that allowed excess emissions in 104,000 US vehicles sold since 2014.

Traders said the market may conceive liabilities of about $3 billion, or 20 percent of Fiat’s market value.

The auto index fell 2.8 per cent while elsewhere in the sector Germany’s BMW and Daimler and France’s Renault all fell more than 2.6 per cent.

Europe’s healthcare sector index fell 1.9 per cent after Mr Trump targeted pharmaceuticals’ drug pricing in a press conference.

Italy’s UBI Banca was top gainer of the STOXX, up 9.1 per cent on news the bank would buy three rescued Italian banks through a €400 million share issue. Swiss luxury goods group Richemont was also a top European gainer, its shares jumping 8.6 per cent after its trading update indicated a pick-up in demand for watches and jewellery. Peer Swatch gained 5.4 per cent.

New York

By afternoon trading, the Dow Jones was down 0.58 per cent and the S&P 500 was down 0.50 per cent. The Nasdaq Composite was down 0.68 per cent.

The CBOE Volatility Index or Wall Street’s “fear gauge”, ticked up 8.1 per cent, the most since the US election.

The technology, financial and industrial sectors all tumbled more than 1 per cent. The financial index was down 1.45 per cent, set for its worst day since late September, one day before a trio of big banks report results, kicking off the fourth-quarter earnings season.

Merck was up 1 per cent after multiple broker upgrades, one of the few bright spots for the second straight session.

Microsoft fell 1.8 per cent and Apple dropped 0.9 per cent, making them the biggest drags on the S&P and the Nasdaq.

– (Additional reporting: Bloomberg/Reuters/PA)