B of I leads fall in financial stock with 25-cent surrender

MARKET REPORT: Dublin fell yesterday although not as dramatically as some of its European peers with concern over the ongoing weakness in the United States dragging stocks down across the board.

Settlement Date: September 24th

The leading financials, in particular, were hard hit. Bank of Ireland gave up 25 cents to €10.60 while Irish Life & Permanent surrendered 20 cents to €12 despite the entry by the company into the market to buy its own stock. Anglo Irish Bank dropped 15 cents to €5.98 and First Active 13 cents to €4.60. AIB avoided the brunt of the selling pressure, finishing off just one cent at €12.25.

Building materials group CRH fell 35 cents to €14.20 on the back of weak US housing figures, with traders saying there were plenty of sellers.

"It's been a long day with most markets in Europe testing or falling through long-term lows," said one trader. "There is nothing specific hurting shares at home. It is simply led by the US market."

Homebuilder McInerney was an exception, pleasing the market with interim profit figures that showed a 76 per cent rise before tax.

The shares closed up 14 cents on €2.29 as brokers moved to upgrade the stock.

Irish Continental, which reported a return to profit largely in line with expectations, had a quiet day on the floor, closing unchanged on €5.65.

Independent News & Media was back in the market buying its own shares again. It bought more than two million shares in the market through a wholly owned subsidiary at prices between €1.55 and €1.57 just a day after buying 1.38 million shares at prices between €1.48 and €1.57.

The share closed the session up a cent at €1.58.