European shares start June lower

European shared slipped 0.1 per cent on Monday starting to start June in the red, despite recording a 4 per cent gain in May, as investors reacted late to further US import tariffs late on Friday.

The Dublin-listed Iseq All-Share bucked the European trend to record a slight rise.

DUBLIN

The Iseq All-Share index was largely unchanged in trading on Monday, ending the session at 11,430.30, up 18.58 or 0.16 per cent.

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The big winners on the day were Ryanair, rising 1.63 per cent to a share price of €23.75, alongside construction outfit Cairn Homes which rose 1.60 per cent to €2.22.

Earlier on Monday, Glanbia announced the completion of a €50 million share buyback programme, with the company falling 1.95 per cent, to a final share price for the day of €12.55.

Insulation and building materials specialist, Kingspan Group fell 1.85 per cent to €74.10. News broke over the weekend that the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund has taken a more than 3 per cent share in the company for an estimated €420 million.

LONDON

Britain’s blue-chip FTSE 100 ended flat at 8,774.26 points, sitting less than 1 per cent away from its all-time high seen in March.

Energy heavyweights Shell and BP rose close to 1 per cent each, tracking a 3 per cent surge in crude oil prices after producer group Opec+ kept output increases in July at the same level as the previous two months.

Shares of defence firm Babcock International jumped 8.2 per cent, while BAE Systems added 1 per cent in advance of the publication of Britain’s Strategic Defence Review.

A gauge of precious metal miners advanced 6.2 per cent as gold prices touched a more than three-week high on the back of a weaker dollar and the lingering global tariff uncertainty.

On Monday, big dollar earners AstraZeneca and Unilever were top drags on the FTSE 100 as the pound firmed 0.6 per cent against the greenback.

The number of mortgages approved by British lenders for house purchase fell more than expected in April to their lowest in more than a year. A gauge of home builders dropped 1.2 per cent.

A separate reading showed British manufacturing’s downturn was less severe than initially feared in May, though output, orders and jobs still declined.

Asset manager Aberdeen Group climbed 4.2 per cent after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock’s rating to “buy” from “neutral”.

EUROPE

The European benchmark recorded a late reaction to an announcement late on Friday, that US President Donald Trump planned to increase tariffs on imported steel and aluminium to 50 per cent from 25 per cent, with the European Union noting its readiness to retaliate.

The Stoxx 600 Index slipped 0.1 per cent on the day as the automobile sector, bore the brunt of the trade jitters, falling 2.1 per cent, the most among sectors.

Milan-listed Stellantis down 5 per cent. Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Volkswagen fell between 1.9 per cent and 2.7 per cent. Even Luxury stocks, reliant on global exports dropped, with the broader gauge was down 0.8 per cent.

An index measuring volatility in the market climbed 4.3 per cent – at a one-week high.

Some of the UK’s defence manufacturers gained after the news that Britain will expand its nuclear-powered attack submarine fleet.

Babcock International Group and QinetiQ Group advanced 8.2 per cent and 4.5 per cent respectively.

Media stocks such as France’s Publicis Groupe and WPP fell 3.8 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively. The Wall Street Journal reported that Meta Platforms aimed to fully automate ad creation with AI by the end of next year.

NEW YORK

Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs gave domestic steel producers a boost in mid afternoon trading, but the main US indexes remained mixed.

Shares Cleveland-Cliffs jumped by nearly a quarter, with Nucor and Steel Dynamics gaining significantly. Shares of automakers fell, however, with Ford and General Motors lower in the session.

A temporary relief on some levies on China and a rollback of steep tariff threats on the European Union, along with strong earnings and improving economic picture helped the benchmark S&P 500 log its best monthly performance in 18 months in May.

Also fuelling risk-off moves in global markets, Kyiv struck some of Moscow’s nuclear-capable bombers on Sunday, renewing concerns around further escalation of the war.

US-listed energy stocks advanced after producer group Opec+ kept output increases in July at the same level as the previous two months.

Most megacap and growth stocks fell, with Tesla, down after it reported lower monthly sales for Portugal, Denmark and Sweden. Google-parent Alphabet also lost. – Additional reporting, Reuters