European stocks fall amid weak economic data
European stocks fell on Thursday amid concerns over the economic outlook on both sides of the Atlantic.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 index closed 0.6 per cent lower, logging its biggest single-day fall since early April, and retreated further from a two-month high touched earlier this week.
Investors have been grappling with lack of progress on trade deals as well as US president Donald Trump's sweeping tax cut plans, which have raised concerns about ballooning US debt and sent government bond yields surging.
Adding to the dour mood, HCOB's preliminary composite euro zone Purchasing Managers' Index dropped to 49.5 this month from 50.4 in April, and the bloc's dominant services industry suffered a deeper downturn in demand in a clear sign of the impact of US tariffs on the euro zone economy.
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DUBLIN
The Iseq All-Share index closed 0.6 per cent lower at 11,326.58, having closed at an all-time record on Wednesday.
'There's a bit of nervousness around how large the US deficit has been structurally for a given period of time. You're going to have a very uncertain picture with regards to growth and a certain outlook for deteriorating public finances,' said Iain Barnes, chief investment officer at Netwealth.
Banks were out of sorts, with AIB down 0.6 per cent at €6.64 and Bank of Ireland off 0.2 at €11.94, with news flow from latter's annual general meeting (agm) giving little for investors to get excited about.
Still, tourism related plays were in demand, with Dalata Hotel Group up 2.9 per cent at €5.71 and Irish Continental Group adding 1.2 per cent to €5.30.
LONDON
The FTSE 100 fell 0.5 per cent amid broad-based declines as concerns over a deteriorating fiscal outlook in the US and a higher-than-expected UK government budget deficit dampened investor sentiment on risk assets.
In the UK, data showed the government borrowed more than expected in April, indicating continued pressure on public finances.
Following this, UK government bonds underperformed earlier in the day, underlining unease among investors about the country's stretched finances.
Energy subindex fell 1.5 per cent as oil prices dropped by more than 1 per cent.
Heavyweight Shell and BP dragged the FTSE 100 down, both slipping 1.5 per cent.
Budget airline EasyJet slipped 2.6 per cent after reporting half-year results.
British Land fell 5.4 per cent and was among the top losers on the mid-cap index due to a tepid earnings forecast.
On the flip side, Johnson Matthey posted its highest gain in nearly a year, up 30.7 per cent, after the chemicals firm agreed to sell its catalyst technologies business to Honeywell International.
EUROPE
Tomb Raider owner Embracer fell 17 per cent to the bottom of the benchmark index after it forecast slight revenue growth and broadly unchanged earnings for its fiscal 2025/26 and said that at least one of its nine AAA game releases slated for the following two financial years would be pushed back.
Freenet AG slid 16.7 per cent after the German telecoms firm reported its first-quarter numbers.
NEW YORK
The S&P 500 struggled for direction in early afternoon trading after the US House of Representatives passed Mr Trump's tax and spending bill, expected to burden the federal government with trillions of dollars in extra debt, by a razor-thin margin.
If what Mr Trump has described as a 'big, beautiful bill' becomes law, it is expected to add about $3.8 trillion to the country's $36.2 trillion debt in the next decade, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
The bill now faces a test in the Republican-controlled Senate and will fulfil much of Trump's populist agenda if passed, delivering new tax breaks on tips and car loans and boosting US military expenditure.
Most megacap and growth stocks inched up. Alphabet led gains, touching a nearly three-month high.
Shares of solar energy companies including First Solar fell as Mr Trump's tax bill is expected to end a number of green-energy subsidies.
Snowflake jumped after the cloud computing firm raised its fiscal-year 2026 product revenue forecast. – Additional reporting, Reuters
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