Stock markets pulled back from record levels on Monday while focus was firmly on the game of football as Europe's wealthiest clubs seek to form a breakaway Super League.
Among the dozen football clubs looking to form their own tournament, shares in the publicly-listed Italian side Juventus and England's Manchester United both jumped.
"The financial incentive for the clubs is plain to see, with a multi-billion dollar package at the heart of the scheme, albeit it would forever break the integrity of the club game," said Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com.
Shares of Juventus were up 17.5 percent near the closing bell on the Milan stock exchange, while Manchester United was 9.6 percent higher in late morning trading in New York, where its shares are listed.
Elsewhere on markets, bitcoin steadied around $55,000 after diving more than 15 percent at one point over the weekend after reports that the US Treasury could crack down on digital money laundering, according to NAB analyst Rodrigo Catril.
Bitcoin hit a record high above $62,000 last week ahead of the Wall Street debut of cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, despite concerns about a bubble and the sustainability of the digital currency market.
On Asian stock markets, Shanghai finished up 1.5 percent and Hong Kong ended 0.5 percent higher, despite China's first-quarter economic growth data skating under market expectations at the end of last week.
European markets ended mostly lower in afternoon trading, with the DAX pulling away from a record set last week and the FTSE 100 holding onto 7,000 points -- a level it broke above last week for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic -- only by a whisker.
Wall Street's main indices were lower in late morning trading, with the Dow off 0.4 percent.
Both the Dow and S&P finished at new peaks on Friday and also posted their fourth consecutive weekly gains, following on the heels of strong data for American housing starts, employment and retail sales.
"A quieter start to the week has seen stock markets drift back on a lack of news, with only the goings-on in European football providing some interest," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG.
Last week bank results helped drive equities higher, but aside from Coca-Cola, there weren't big names reporting earnings on Monday. Netflix tops the firms due to publish earnings on Tuesday.
"Investors will hope that earnings reports can provide fresh support in the other sessions of the week, given that the market is currently trading on high valuations and expectations and thus remains at risk of a sudden decline," said Beauchamp.
The dollar slid Monday versus its main rivals.
Meanwhile, the pound surged more than 1.1 percent higher against the dollar.
"The pound went on a tear this Monday, using a quiet session to indulge in some economic optimism following the first weekend under the latest set of eased restrictions in the UK," said analyst Connor Campbell at Spreadex.
Both the Dow and S&P finished at new peaks on Friday and also posted their fourth consecutive weekly gains Photo: AFP / Angela Weiss
New York - Dow: DOWN 0.4 percent at 34,070.21 points
EURO STOXX 50: DOWN 0.2 at 4,023.51
London - FTSE 100: DOWN 0.3 percent at 7,000.08 (close)
Frankfurt - DAX 30: DOWN 0.6 percent at 15,368.39 (close)
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.2 percent at 6,296.69 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: FLAT at 29,685.37 (close)
Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 0.5 percent at 29,106.15 (close)
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,477.62 (close)
Euro/dollar: UP at $1.2030 from $1.1983
Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3987 from $1.3832
Euro/pound: DOWN at 86.01 pence from 86.57 pence
Dollar/yen: DOWN at 108.06 yen from 108.80 yen
Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.1 percent at $66.86 per barrel
West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.3 percent at $63.29 per barrel
