Dublin Report: The Irish stock market lost more than 1 per cent yesterday, hit by the weaker tone overseas as the rising price of oil fuelled investor jitters.
"Everything feels a bit shaky," one dealer noted, although he added that volumes remained light heading into the Easter weekend.
Financial stocks bore the brunt of the weakness in Dublin, with AIB more than giving up Monday's gains as the shares shed 45 cent, or 2.3 per cent, to €18.75.
Anglo Irish Bank remained under pressure, closing 16 cent or 1.2 per cent, lower at €12.91 while Bank of Ireland lost 10 cent to €14.80. Only Irish Life & Permanent held steady on the day, closing unchanged at €19.90.
Though most notable in the banking sector, the downward drift was not confined to financial shares. As always, Ryanair proved sensitive to the rising oil price, shedding 15 cent or nearly 2 per cent to €7.38.
CRH did not escape the selling pressure either, finishing 48 cent or 1.7 per cent lower at €28.20.
Two of the few stocks to remain in positive territory yesterday were in the food sector. Kerry Group added five cent to €19.60 as it announced the purchase of two bolt-on acquisitions in the US for a total of $83 million (€68.3 million).
Meanwhile, drink and snacks group C&C added four cent to €5.75, buoyed by the valuation attaching to Scottish & Newcastle's purchase of the rights to the Fosters brand in Europe, Turkey and Russia.
But not all food stocks did as well. Fyffes lost two cent, nearly 1 per cent of its value, to €2.14 amid worries about the performance of its fruit business and concern about its decision to appeal the DCC case to the Supreme Court.
Eircom lost one cent to €2.14 as investors waited patiently for Babcock & Brown's next move.
In the exploration sector, shares in Dragon Oil surged by 11.5 per cent, or 30 cent, to €2.90 as the company announced the resumption of oil production in Turkmenistan.
