The Iseq's recent rally came to a halt today, with the index just about maintaining its foothold above the key 3,000 level as global markets sold off.
Investors pulled in their horns today as falling commodity prices raised questions about the strength of the global recovery. The announcement this afternoon that China has increased its bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points also dampened equity markets.
There was plenty of stock-specific news to drive activity on the Irish market, with a number of updates and results published during the session.
Investors reacted positively to Kingspan’s quarter one results which showed that the insulation company made a positive start to the year, with total sales up 33 per cent. The stock was lifted more than 4 per cent, or 28 cent, to €6.90, making it one of the strongest performers on the day.
Kerry Group also delivered a decent turn, given the backdrop of a down market. The food ingredients group added almost 2 per cent, or 58 cent, to finish at €29.89.
Elsewhere in the sector, fruit importer Fyffes failed to get much of a boost despite announcing that it has increased its profit target for the year. The stock edged slightly higher to close at 42.3 cent.
Brokers reported low trading volumes across the board. Overall, the Iseq index fell 0.77 per cent to 3,002.31.
France's CAC 40 Index dropped 0.9 per cent, the UK's FTSE 100 Index slid 0.5 per cent and Germany's DAX Index fell 0.7 per cent.
Additional reporting - Bloomberg
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