European stocks ended sharply lower Monday as investors wrestled with the latest developments tied to Italy’s contentious budget plan and Britain’s negotiation’s to strike a trade pact, as that country’s leaders plot to leave the European Union. A tumble in shares of British American Tobacco PLC also weighed on European bourses.
What are markets doing?
The Stoxx Europe 600
SXXP, -1.01%
fell 1% to close at 362.03, after the index put in a weekly gain of 0.5%.
Germany’s DAX 30
DAX, -1.77%
ended the day 1.8% lower at 11,325.44, while France’s CAC 40
PX1, -0.93%
dropped 0.5% to close at 5,106.75. The U.K.’s FTSE 100
UKX, -0.74%
finished 0.7% lower at 7,053.08.
Italy’s FTSE MIB Italy index
I945, -1.05%
closed 1.1% lower at 19,055.92.
The euro
EURUSD, +0.0267%
weakened below the level of $1.13 in response and dropped to its lowest since late June 2017.
Meanwhile, in the U.K., the British pound
GBPUSD, -0.0156%
was off to a weak start at the beginning of the week, as Brexit negotiations weighed. One pound last bought $1.2850, down from $1.2974.
What is driving the market?
Global equities opened the week lower as investors watched closely for the next tactical moves between Italy and the European Union. Rome’s first budget proposal for 2019, including a ballooning deficit, was rejected last month and U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May continues to forge a new agreement with EU for its life outside of the trade bloc. U.K. Transport Minister Jo Johnson resigned over the lack of progress in Brexit talks, calling for the public to have another say. May also has been battling doubts about her Brexit leadership.
Stock movers
British American Tobacco PLC
BATS, -10.62%
finished the session down 12% after The Wall Street Journal reported that the Food and Drug Administration was planning to propose a ban on menthol cigarettes.
Flughafen Zuerich AG
FHZN, -15.28%
shares fell 15.7% after the airport operator warned that changes proposed by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation could reduce revenues by 25%.
Shares of ams AG
AMS, -22.41%
a supplier to Apple Inc.
AAPL, -5.04%
closed down 23%, amid growing worries about the forecast for iPhone demand. Apple’s shares declined by 5.1% after Lumentum Holdings Inc.’s stock
LITE, -32.98%
plummeted 32% to its lowest close since February 2017 after the company said before Monday’s open that it “recently received a request from one of our largest industrial and consumer customers for laser diodes for 3-D sensing to materially reduce shipments” during its fiscal second quarter, which ends December. An oblique reference to Apple, market participants said.
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Source : MTV
