Iseq: 4,858.78 (-4.45).THE ISEQ index of Irish shares failed to hold on the gains made in a bright start to morning trading yesterday and despite a brief rally in the late afternoon, it closed the day in negative territory yet again.
It was alone among the 18 western European markets to find itself in the red, ending down just 4.45 points or 0.09 per cent at 4,858.78.
Yet again financial stocks were the main culprits. Irish Life Permanent did most of the damage with its share price plummeting by nearly 10 per cent as it lost 59 cents to €5.36 on the back of having its ratings outlook lowered to negative by analysts at Moody's Investors Service, which cited dependence on wholesale funding and falling profit. However, volumes traded were relatively light.
Other banking stocks were also under pressure. AIB was down 2.5 per cent to €8.969, while Bank of Ireland, ahead of an expected trading statement to accompany its shareholders' meeting today, lost 12 cents to €5.06. Anglo Irish Bank bucked the trend, however, edging up 2.4 cents to €5.474.
Construction heavyweight CRH was also in the doldrums as it slipped back more than 2 cent, shedding 35 cents from its share price to €16.27. Low fares airline Ryanair recovered a lot of the ground it lost in Friday's trading. It was one of the star performers of the day, benefiting from the retreat in oil prices to less than $141 a barrel from record highs of nearly $146 a barrel. It ended the day 5.6 per cent stronger at €2.545.
Elan also enjoyed a good day, picking up 45 cents to €22.35, while Dragon Oil was up 20 cents to €6.10.
It was a mixed day for food stocks. IAWS picked up 20 cents to €15.80, while Kerry was up more than 3 per cent to €19, but Glanbia was 22 cents weaker at €4.70 and Greencore declined by more than 2 per cent to €1.82.
Settlement date: July 10th
