European shares were steady on Friday, and on track for a third straight weekly gain, as investors focused on French politics ahead of President Emmanuel Macron’s expected announcement of a new prime minister.

Dublin

The Iseq Overall Index ended the week in the red, falling 1.3 per cent by the close of the day.

Banking shares dipped, with AIB losing almost 2.5 per cent and Bank of Ireland down 2.3 per cent by the time markets closed.

Shares in food groups were mixed, with Kerry Group up 0.2 per cent while Glanbia was down almost half a per cent.

Construction-focused stocks suffered, with Kingspan shedding 1.35 per cent and home builder Glenveagh down 1 per cent.

Ryanair also saw its share price decline, shedding 1.2 per cent, while ferries group ICG was down 1 per cent by the end of the day.

London

The benchmark FTSE 100 dropped 0.9 per cent to 9,427.47 and ended the week 0.67 per cent lower as losses in heavyweight energy and miners outweighed gains in consumer shares.

The mid-cap index was down 1.14 per cent on Friday and also recorded a weekly loss of 1.8 per cent.

The oil and gas sector was the biggest drag, down 2.9 per cent as oil prices declined to multi-month lows on Friday. Shell and BP were the biggest weights on the FTSE 100 with 2.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent declines respectively.

The aerospace and defence sector fell 1.6 per cent. Rolls-Royce fell 1.4 per cent, while BAE Systems and Melrose lost 1.6 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively.

Endeavour Mining and Glencore were among the worst performers on the FTSE 100, as investors booked some profits after a recent rally.

The benchmark index was weighed heavily by banks after HSBC’s privatisation plans for a Hong Kong bank on Thursday, despite hitting record highs this week.

Among other stocks, Ibstock lost 4 per cent, hitting its lowest level in over nine years after the bricks and concrete maker warned its annual profit would fall below expectations.

Europe

The pan-European Stoxx 600 was mostly flat and headed for a 0.1 per cent gain this week.

Milan-listed shares of Stellantis gaining 1.6 per cent after the automaker said its global vehicle shipments rose 13 per cent year-on-year in the third quarter.

German rival Mercedes jumped 2.1 per cent following its pre-close call on Thursday.

Real estate climbed 0.9 per cent, on track to snap a four-day losing streak. Food & beverages rose 0.9 per cent, on pace to extend gains to a fourth straight session.

Oil and shed 0.9 per cent with France’s Technip down 5 per cent after Exane BNP Paribas downgraded its rating on the energy infrastructure company to “neutral” from “outperform”. Basic resources slipped 0.8 per cent, with ArcelorMittal down 2.9 per cent.

New York

Wall Street’s calm was shattered on Friday after US president Donald Trump rattled markets with the threat of a “massive increase” in tariffs on Chinese imports over a rare earths dispute, sending indexes tumbling and volatility spiking.

The sharp sell-off in indexes disrupted a relatively quiet week for markets, which had

A fresh flare-up in US-China trade tensions could weigh on global growth and cloud the outlook for corporate America, which is already navigating higher costs.

At 12:11pm in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.20 per cent, the S&P 500 1.56 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite lost 2.05 per cent.

All three indexes were on track for weekly declines if current levels hold.

The S&P 500 tech sector lost 2 per cent. Financials fell 1.4 per cent on the S&P 500, while energy stocks declined 1.8 per cent. – Additional reporting: Reuters