By Carla Mozee, MarketWatch
Ryanair rises as strategy shift pays off
European stocks and the euro fell Tuesday, with investors
returning from a holiday to assess financial and political
developments in Greece and Spain.
The Stoxx Europe 600 lost 0.4% to 404.95, with no sectors
trading higher. Energy shares logged the biggest loss, with the
group down about 1%, in part as oil prices
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/oil-prices-hold-tight-with-headwinds-in-the-way-of-further-gains-2015-05-26)(CLN5)
declined.
Many global financial markets were closed on Monday for
holidays.
Ryanair Holdings Ltd. (RYAAY) bucked Tuesday's losing trend,
surging 4.4% at 11.40 euros after Europe's biggest budget airline
said yearly net income leapt 66% to 867 million euros
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ryanair-profit-jumps-as-charm-offensive-pays-off-2015-05-26-14851555)($949
million) and profit should be higher this year. The shares were on
track to close at their best level ever. See: Ryanair glides toward
all-time high after profit soars 66%
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ryanair-glides-toward-all-time-high-after-profit-soars-66-2015-05-26)
The euro (EURUSD) fell to $1.0896 from $1.0978 late Friday in
New York. The euro lost the $1.09 level after Greece's interior
minister said Athens doesn't have enough cash to make its June
repayment to the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile, Greece's Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is facing
dissent within his left-wing Syriza
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/greek-deal-hobbled-by-hard-left-split-in-syriza-party-2015-05-26)
party against the economic policies Greece may have to agree to if
it wants bailout money from the IMF and other creditors. Greece's
Athex Composite still managed to move higher on Tuesday, rising
1.2% to 824.22.
In Spain, meanwhile, the leftist Podemos (We Can) and
center-right Ciudadanos (Citizens) parties on Sunday won in
regional and municipal elections
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/spanish-elections-greece-hits-stocks-euro-2015-05-25).
Many voters in cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, seemingly fed
up with austerity measures and corruption, gave their support to
those non-establishment parties.
Also weighing on the shared currency was U.S. Federal Reserve
Chairwoman Janet Yellen's comments on Friday that even with a
recent raft of soft economic data, she still expects the central
bank to raise interest rates
(http://www.marketwatch.com/story/yellen-unmoved-by-soft-data-says-she-expects-rate-hike-this-year-2015-05-22)
this year.
On the country indexes, Spain's IBEX 35 lost 0.7% to 11,248.20.
Germany's DAX 30 was down 0.5% at 11,751.20, while France's CAC 40
0.2% 5,107.67. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 lost 0.5% to 6,994.91.
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires