Ryanair shares plunge after airline recognises unions

RYANAIR was the big mover in Dublin yesterday, its shares fell 8.9pc after the company said it would talk to pilot unions for the first time in a move aimed at averting a pre-Christmas strike.

Among the gainers, Kingspan rose 2.438pc after the company announced that it had spent more than €620m on 10 acquisitions this year, including the previously undisclosed planned purchase of Barcelona-based Synthesia for €250m. Elsewhere, European shares fell yesterday, weighed down by weakness in the banking sector and a slump in retail stocks following a disappointing trading update from fashion brand H&M.

The pan-European STOXX 600 lost 0.2pc at the end of the session and posted a 0.3pc fall over the week as resurfacing worries over political risk spurred profit-taking and offset continued optimism in the region’s economic recovery.

Worries over elections in Italy next year hit European equity funds with outflows at their highest level in over a year. H&M plunged 13pc, the worst fall on the STOXX, after the world’s second largest fashion retailer reported an unexpected drop in quarterly sales as fewer shoppers visited its stores.

Banks continued to be under pressure a day after central banks in the Eurozone and the UK kept benchmark interest rates unchanged. Shares in Societe Generale, HSBC, BNP Paribas and Unicredit fell and Italian banks closed at a six-month low on bad loans concerns. (Additional reporting Reuters)