European stocks closed unchanged on Monday, having earlier hit a three-month high as Donald Trump refrained from announcing tariff increases on US trading partners as he was inaugurated as US president.
Trading volumes were thin as the US market remained closed for Martin Luther King Day.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed flat at 523.87 points, after adding more than 2 per cent over the last week.
Dublin
The Iseq All Share index rose 0.9 per cent to 9,771.73, with banking and construction stocks gaining ground. AIB moved 1.6 per cent higher to €5.55, amid mounting speculation that the incoming government will accelerate its exit as a shareholder of the bank.
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Bank of Ireland nudged 0.6 per cent higher to €9.16. However, PTSB lost 0.7 per cent to €1.39.
Cairn Homes rose 1.2 per cent and Glenveagh Properties added 2 per cent. Cairn Homes is due to commence works on the first phase of its €345 million, 608-unit apartment scheme on former RTÉ lands at Montrose this week.
Kenmare lost 5.2 per cent in Dublin but was closed unchanged in London as investors digested a trading update from company. The titanium minerals and zircon miner’s fourth-quarter production levels in its Moma mine in Mozambique topped analysts’ estimates, even as the country grappled with civil unrest.
However, prices for titanium minerals like ilmenite, which used in the manufacture of everything from paints and plastics to ceramics and textiles, fell over the course of 2024 and are expected to continue to trend lower this year, according to analysts.
London
London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 rose 0.2 per cent to a record high for the second session in a row as investors awaited Donald Trump’s return to the White House for fresh insights on his stance on tariffs and international relations. Mr Trump said that “the golden age of America begins right now” as he was inaugurated in Washington.
Mr Trump pledged to sign a flurry of executive orders concerning immigration, energy and tariffs on his first day in office.
Traders have been concerned that his threats of tariffs on China and other countries would stoke inflation and weigh on global growth. There was a sense of relief in global markets on Monday after Mr Trump did not immediately impose any at his inauguration.
Also in focus this week is the annual gathering of government and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland, as well as earnings reports.
Stock markets across the globe surged last week after signs of slowing inflation in the US and UK prompted traders to increase their bets of further rate cuts from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.
Among individual stocks, Reach soared 21 per cent for its best day in more than four years, after the publisher of the Daily Mirror estimated its fiscal 2024 operating profit would beat market expectations, helped by a strong fourth quarter.
Sanderson Design Group slumped 11 per cent after the luxury interior design and furnishings group issued a profit warning, hurt by lower brand products sales and a weak finish to the fiscal year in the UK.
Electric vehicle charging point provider Pod Point Group plunged about 35 per cent after it warned of a challenging year and cut its 2024 revenue forecast due to weaker electric vehicle (EV) demand.
Europe
The automobile sector, which is particularly sensitive to news of tariffs, rose by 1.1 per cent.
Germany is particularly vulnerable to any tariffs. German finance minister Joerg Kukies said Berlin would adopt a wait-and-see approach regarding the new US president’s actions.
Germany’s benchmark stock index rose 0.4 per cent. The euro zone banking index added 1.2 per cent, the most among all sectors, followed by a 1.2 per cent gain in the basic resources sector.
Among other stand-outs, Nemetschek jumped 10.4 per cent after the German software developer reported its full-year results.
Siemens Energy dropped 3.4 per cent, with traders pointing to a downgrade on the stock by UBS to sell.
– Additional reporting, Reuters
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