European equities climbed as investors grew more optimistic that the worst-case impacts from US tariffs could be averted and as they parsed a flurry of merger and acquisition news.
However, uncertainties about the global trade war continued.
Dublin
The Irish index of shares started the week in positive territory, with the Dublin market rising 0.6 per cent on Monday.
Banking shares were among the gainers on the day, with AIB up 2.45 per cent to €5.84 by the end of the day, while Bank of Ireland was up a more modest 1.54 per cent to close at €10.54.
Other gains were more muted. Kingspan added 0.4 per cent while food group Glanbia was 0.15 per cent higher. Ryanair and Irish Continental were flat on the day, as was FBD.
Permanent TSB lost 2.8 per cent, while hotel group Dalata shed almost 0.6 per cent in value.
London
The blue-chip FTSE 100 was nearly flat but posted its 11th consecutive winning session. The index also posted its longest winning streak since December 2019.
The midcap FTSE 250 gained 0.6 per cent.
Healthcare stocks gained 1.1 per cent, with AstraZeneca and GSK boosting the highest gains in the FTSE 100, up 1.2 per cent and 1.4 per cent respectively.
Entain finished up 6.8 per cent, after the British gambling firm’s joint venture with MGM Resorts, BetMGM, swung to first-quarter profit in an e-betting surge.
Deliveroo jumped 16.5 per cent, leading the gains on the midcap index, after confirming on Friday that it had received a takeover proposal from US peer DoorDash on April 5th.
Europe
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index ended the session 0.5 per cent higher, its fifth day of gains in a row and its longest winning streak since January. Germany’s DAX index advanced 0.1 per cent, nearly recouping all of its losses since April 2nd , when President Donald Trump announced his reciprocal tariffs.
Portugal’s PSI 20 Index fell 1 per cent as earnings from Galp Energia SGPS weighed, while Spain’s IBEX 35 Index trimmed earlier gains to end 0.7 per cent higher. Both countries were hit by a major blackout, though their respective stock markets were operating normally.
Bank shares were among the biggest outperformers, lifted by Banca Generali, which jumped 5.2 per cent after Mediobanca launched a surprise €6.3 billion offer for the wealth manager.
Merck KGaA gained 1.3 per cent after agreeing to buy SpringWorks Therapeutics to boost its healthcare division.
Meanwhile, signs that China could provide more support for exporters affected by the US tariffs also helped boost sentiment. In addition, traders expect the European Central Bank will further ease policy to cushion the economy from US tariffs.
New York
Wall Street turned lower on Monday, dragged down by megacap stocks, while investors braced for a week packed with key economic data and earnings from some of the biggest US companies.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq led declines, as megacap stocks lost ground. Tesla fell 3.2 per cent and AI-darling Nvidia dipped 3.6 per cent.
A report said China’s Huawei Technologies was preparing to test its artificial-intelligence processor, which it hopes would replace some of Nvidia’s products.
Other megacaps also fell, ahead of a busy week of corporate earnings.
Apple and Meta Platforms are among the several “Magnificent Seven” heavyweight companies that will be reporting this week.
By midmorning the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.29 points, or 0.01 per cent, to 40,111.21, the S&P 500 lost 25.33 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 5,499.87 and the Nasdaq Composite lost 155.44 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 17,227.50.
Gains in Boeing after Bernstein’s rating upgrade limited losses for the Dow, while the technology sector fell 1.3 per cent, leading sector declines. – Additional reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg
