Lisbon stocks fall further as shares in sole bank in PSI index down 4%
BCP's slide was followed by those of Sonae, Altri and Galp, which fell 3.5% to €0.93, 2.6% to €4.47 and 2.4% to €9.65 respectively.
The Lisbon stock market fell throughout the morning on Monday, with 14 of the 16 shares in the benchmark PSI (Portugal Stock Index) down, led by shares in BCP, the only bank in the index, which were down 3.9% to €0.18 by shortly after 9 a.m.
The PSI, which as of Monday also includes food outlet franchising company Ibersol, was down 1.1% to 5,659.67 points, with the price of 14 of its members falling, and just one rising (EDP Renováveis, up 0.05% to €19.95) and one unchanged (REN at €2.25).
BCP’s slide was followed by those of Sonae, Altri and Galp, which fell 3.5% to €0.93, 2.6% to €4.47 and 2.4% to €9.65 respectively.
Shares in Mota-Engil, Greenvolt and Ibersol were also sharply down, by 2.0% to €1.45, 1.9% to €6.57 and 1.8% to €6.58.
Shares in Sempa, NOS, CTT, Corticeira Amorim, Navigator were also down by more than 1%.
Major European stock markets all opened lower on Monday, amid scepticism at the hurried conclusion of the acquisition of Credit Suisse by fellow Swiss bank UBS, which has not erased fears about the stability of the banking sector.
Shares in UBS fell 8.8% at the opening of the Zurich Stock Exchange after the deal to buy Credit Suisse, its traditional rival, which had been at risk of bankruptcy due to an irremediable crisis of confidence.
Switzerland’s government offered substantial guarantees for the deal to proceed – including using certain emergency instruments – on the grounds that the collapse of Credit Suisse could generate a financial crisis not only domestically but globally.
However, investors on Monday morning appeared dissatisfied with the deal, whereby UBS agreed to buy Credit Suisse for the €3bn, a price it will pay in shares only and valuing the absorbed entity’s shares at 40% of their value at the close of Friday’s trading.
On a day of widespread share falls in Europe, investors will analyse the purchase of Credit Suisse by UBS, and the coordinated action of the main central banks to provide liquidity to the system.
The day had begun with the price of Brent crude falling by 2.7% to $71.06, while futures point to Wall Street stocks on Monday losing more than 1%, at a time when the Federal Reserve is to meet on Wednesday to review the situation.
On Friday, New York stocks closed lower, with the Dow Jones down 1.2% to 31,861.98 points, well down from the 4 January record high of 36,799.65 points. The Nasdaq closed down 0.7% at 11,630.51 points, down from the November 2021 record high of 16,057.44 points.
On the foreign exchange front, the euro opened lower on the Frankfurt foreign exchange market, trading at $1.0638, down from $1.0670 on Friday and $1.0909 on February 2, a high since April 2022.
The euro has been above parity against the dollar since 7 November, having previously been below parity since 20 September, except for on 26 October (when it was worth $1.0076).
Brent crude for May delivery opened down on London’s Intercontinental Exchange Futures (ICE), trading at $71.06, its lowest since January 2022, down from $72.97 on Friday.
