Markets globally rally on Monday while gold and silver prices slide

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Markets rallied on Monday following weakness at the end of last week, despite falls in gold, silver and oil prices, dealers said.

Gold fell as much as 9 per cent in early trading, before rebounding to leave it down 4.1 per cent on the day at $4,665. Silver tumbled as much as 15 per cent on Monday, before recovering back up to $78.98, down 6.7 per cent on the day.

DUBLIN

Tumbling oil prices boosted Ryanair stock on what traders said was a mostly quiet bank holiday.

Shares in the airline were up more than 2 per cent at €29.19 in advance of the close on Monday, a pattern repeated across its industry in Europe.

The banks had a busy day. AIB gained 2.49 per cent to €9.685 while Bank of Ireland climbed 2.68 per cent to €17.605.

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European banking and financial stocks performed well on the day, dealers noted.

Kingspan added 1.91 per cent to €74.90. Ingredients and food group Kerry dipped 0.74 per cent to €74.25.

Housebuilder Cairn Homes added almost 1 per cent to €2.11. “Markets were generally stronger today,” said one trader.

LONDON

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed at a record high despite a sell-off in gold.

Investors piled into airlines, hotels and pharmaceutical stocks. Airlines gained altitude on a slide in oil prices on Monday.

Aer Lingus owner IAG was up 3.32 per cent at 432.1p shortly before 4.25pm on Monday.

Low-cost carrier and Ryanair rival Easyjet had gained 2.32 per cent to 488.9p about the same time.

Shares in precious metal specialist Endeavour Mining slid as gold and silver lost their sheen for investors. Its stock was down 2.65 per cent at 4,110p in advance of the close.

Fresnillo was down close to 1 per cent at 3,670p at about 4:30pm on Monday.

Anglo American bucked the weaker trend, rising 1.2 per cent to 3,450p.

Analysts at Citi upgraded the mining stock to “buy” from “neutral”, dubbing its proposed merger with Teck Resources to form AngloTeck “transformative”.

The gold sell-off eased later in the day. The commodity has been popular with investors, who see it as a safe haven against more general market volatility, analysts say.

Fashion chain JD Sports was one of the standout performers, climbing 6.1 per cent to 86.78p, leaving it more than 1.2 per cent ahead on the year to date.

Intercontinental Hotels gained 4.15 per cent to 140.4p.

Pharmaceuticals group AstraZeneca added 3.24 per cent to 14,040p as its stock began trading in New York on Monday.

EUROPE

Europe’s Stoxx 600 index, which tracks leading shares across 18 markets, rose more than 1 per cent.

Gold and silver’s plunge sent shares in Danish jeweller Pandora soaring. The stock closed 9.16 per cent ahead at 555.60 Danish kroner (€74.40).

Air France KLM climbed 4.67 per cent to €11.32 on a good day for travel stocks. Lufthansa rose 8.92 per cent to €8.92 in Frankfurt.

Luxury goods group LMVH was 1.57 per cent off at €538.30.

Markets rallied across Europe. Germany’s DAX was up 1 per cent with France’s CAC was 0.7 per cent higher and Italy’s FTSE MIB gained 1.1 per cent.

NEW YORK

Wall Street kicked off February on a relatively cautious note, with stocks wavering after the recent surge in precious metals went into reverse. Oil sank while bond yields advanced alongside the dollar.

Equities struggled to gain traction after Friday’s dramatic sell-off in metals, with the S&P 500 edging lower. The greenback rose against most big currencies. While gold trimmed most of an earlier plunge, it was still down 3 per cent, extending its biggest slump in more than a decade.

Oil slid 4.5 per cent as US president Donald Trump said Washington is talking to Iran.

The S&P 500 was down 0.1 per cent in early trade on Monday. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg/PA