Automaker shares have been hit by the US-China trade war, as well as threatened US tariffs on car imports from Europe. Europe’s banking sector recovered from the previous session’s losses when a profit warning by France’s Societe Generale SA hit the sector hard. Optimism also came from small-cap German online meal-kit delivery service HelloFresh SE, whose shares surged 21.5 percent after it raised its revenue forecast. Another profit warning by Ryanair, which blamed lower-than-expected winter fares to overcapacity, spooked investors, initially dragging the stock down. By the close, shares in the budget airline were up 0.3 percent, underperforming the market, while rival EasyJet Airline Co Ltd also inched up 0.3 percent — one of the weakest FTSE 100 stocks.

Source: Taipei Times January 19, 2019 16:03 UTC