Global equities wavered late on Monday amid a renewed rout in SpaceX’s stock while Alphabet’s share price dropped after reports of the departure of two senior figures from the Google-owner’s artificial intelligence to rival Anthropic.Oil prices fell globally after US vice president JD Vance asserted that a foundation had been laid for talks with Iran about a permanent settlement of the conflict that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz. DUBLINIrish shares started the week on a strong footing with the Iseq index rising 1.2 per cent, outperforming its peers and trading near 52-week highs.Bank shares edged higher, with AIB advancing 0.6 per cent to €10.72 per share. Bank of Ireland moved 0.4 per cent higher to €18.66 per share.Ryanair, meanwhile, was among the bigger movers, rising 2.4 per cent to close at €26.33 per share amid renewed optimism about the trajectory of global oil and jet fuel prices. Kingspan was unchanged at €84.85. Among the other index heavyweights, Kerry Group added 2.7 per cent to close at €76.90. Glanbia added 3.1 per cent to €22.64 per share.LONDONNews of Keir Starmer’s resignation as prime minister was met with a muted reaction on the London Stock Exchange, with the benchmark FTSE 100 up 0.7 per cent and the mid-cap FTSE 250 flat. Investors are focused on what impact a new leader will have on the nation’s finances and who that person might pick as their chancellor if Rachel Reeves is sacked. There is also optimism that the transition to a new leader will be a relatively smooth one. In M&A activity, shares of budget airline EasyJet rose 2.9 per cent after US investment firm Castlelake went public with a £4.74 billion offer. Among other ‌movers, defence and ⁠engineering group Babcock dropped 3.5 per cent following a sharp decline in its annual profit on a £140 million frigate charge.EUROPEEuropean shares were subdued with the blue-chip Stoxx 50 index and the cross-Continental Stoxx 600 up by 0.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent, respectively. Tech stocks led sectoral gains, rising 1.1 per cent, with chipmaker Infineon gaining 4.7 per cent, tracking advances in Asian equities. ASML was flat. After initially declining, shares in Danone finished 2.4 per cent higher after the French food giant ⁠said it will acquire Australian company MADE Group for an undisclosed amount.Luxury stables LVMH, Hermés and Kerring all fell by between 2.1 per cent and 5.9 per cent.NEW YORKWall Street traders drove stocks down from the brink of all-time highs as a renewed slide in SpaceX overshadowed optimism about progress in peace talks between the US and Iran.The Nasdaq Composite lost 1 per cent. Elon Musk’s rocket company sank 9.5 per cent as it began selling investment-grade bonds for the first time, part of what is expected to be a large borrowing spree to fund its artificial-intelligence ambitions. Meanwhile, Alphabet’s share price dropped by more than 5 per cent after the departure of two senior figures from its DeepMind AI division to join rival Anthropic.“John Jumper’s and Noam Shazeer’s decision to jump ship to key rivals is having an impact far beyond their own team, wiping billions off Alphabet’s valuation,” said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at investing platform IG. “In the war for dominance in AI, key figures like these are pearls of great price, and Alphabet’s inability to hold on to this particular gem, combined with its eye-watering spending plans, is taking its toll.”While the S&P 500 fell, most of its shares rose. West Texas Intermediate crude slid to $74 on hopes that a recovery in energy flows from the Gulf would ease inflationary pressures.Memory chipmakers moved higher, with Micron Technology and SanDisk gaining about 3 per cent each. Intel and Nvidia were up 2 per cent and ​1 per cent, respectively. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg, Reuters