World shares slid on Monday as US warnings that Russia could invade Ukraine at any time kept oil prices near seven-year peaks and sent investors scurrying to the safe-haven government debt they have mostly shunned this year.
European shares ended at their lowest level in 20 days on Monday, with travel and banking leading the slump.
DUBLIN
The Irish index of shared fell, hit by souring risk sentiment across global equities.
Banking shares slumped over the day, following similar moves across other European markets. AIB lost almost 3 per cent to close the session at €2.63, while Bank of Ireland fared a little worse, shedding more than 4 per cent over the day with shares dipping to €6.57. Permanent TSB, however, bucked the trend, adding 2.3 per cent to its share price to close at €1.78.
Travel stocks were also down, with Dalata down 4 per cent to just over €4, and airline Ryanair off 2.47 per cent at €17.74 by the closing bell.
Building stocks also suffered, with CRH and Kingspan all ending lower on the day.
LONDON
The blue-chip Ftse 100 index sank 1.7 per cent and recorded its worst session in three-weeks, with financial stocks leading declines. HSBC Holdings, Barclays and Lloyds Banking all fell between 1.6 per cent and 5.2 per cent.
The domestically-focused midcap index lost 2.0 per cent, with industrials and consumer discretionary stocks coming under the most pressure.
Sportswear retailer JD Sports fell 3.5 per cent after Britain fined the firm and Footasylum a combined £4.7 million for breaching an order that prevented the firms from integrating further.
Airline logistics provider John Menzies dropped 3.5 per cent after Kuwait-based National Aviation Services said a £469 million takeover proposal rejected by John Menzies represented a "full and fair value" for the British airport services group.
EUROPE
The Europe-wide Stoxx 600 index fell 1.8 per cent – its worst single-day fall since January 24th. All the major sub-sectors were in the red.
Banking shares led declines, down 3.3 per cent after sovereign bond yields across the euro area fell as investors rushed back to safe-haven debt on Russia-Ukraine tensions.
Some of the Russian-exposed European banks including Raiffeisen Bank International, Unicredit and Societe Generale fell between 4.2 per cent and 6.1 per cent.
Airlines were also hit hard, with shares of WizzAir, Aer Lingus and British Airways-owner IAG, Germany's Lufthansa and Air France KLM down between 3.3 per cent and 6.3 per cent.
Among other stocks Clariant slumped 16 per cent to the bottom of Stoxx 600, as the Swiss speciality chemicals group delayed the release of its 2021 results due to an investigation into accounting issues.
Commerzbank fell 2.7 per cent after Germany's finance minister said the government would not keep its stake in the lender in the long run.
NEW YORK
The S&P 500 and the Dow slipped in volatile trading amid concerns about higher interest rates and geopolitical tensions, while a rally in chipmakers and megacap growth names helped the tech-heavy Nasdaq outperform.
Eight of the 11 major S&P sectors declined, with energy shares down 3 per cent.
At 12.36pm, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 113.89 points, or 0.33 per cent, at 34,624.17, and the S&P 500 was down 2.30 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 4,416.34.
The Nasdaq Composite was up 108.03 points, or 0.78 per cent, at 13,899.18, led by megacap growth names Apple, Microsoft, Google-owner Alphabet, Amazon. com and Tesla which rose between 0.3 per cent and 3.6 per cent.
Advanced Micro Devices jumped 3.7 per cent as the semiconductor designer finalised the purchase of Xilinx in a record chip industry deal valued at about $50 billion.
Meanwhile, the fourth-quarter earnings season is in full swing, with profits for S&P 500 companies expected to grow 31 per cent year-over-year, as of Friday.
Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co gained 4.9 per cent after JP Morgan upgraded the tyre manufacturer's stock to "overweight" from "neutral". – Additional reporting: Reuters
