Iseq:2,893.37 (+47.82) Settlement date:January 27th

GREENCORE LOST ground on the Irish stock exchange again yesterday as its proposed merger with Northern Foods looked increasingly unlikely.

A rival bid for Northern Foods was made last Friday by businessman Ranjit Boparan, and according to a Dublin broker the strength of this offer has made Greencore’s position “quite difficult”. The convenience food producer shed 5.5 per cent yesterday, or 6.6 cent, bringing it back down to about €1.14. The stock had rallied after announcing its merger plans back in November, but it has now fallen back to the levels at which it was previously trading.

The banks were all relatively weak, as the current political instability weighed on the sector. Bank of Ireland slipped fractionally to 35.2 cent. AIB’s fall was more “event-driven”, a broker explained, as the institution is due to delist from the main Irish stock exchange, and will be quoted on the smaller ESM market from tomorrow onwards. The stock fell to 23.5 cent at one point but recovered to 26.5 by the close.

Elsewhere, building materials producer CRH outperformed its peers on the day, gaining almost 3 per cent, or 45 cent, to €15.53.

Ryanair also enjoyed a positive day’s trading, adding more than 4 per cent, or 14.5 cent, to close at €3.61. EasyJet’s profit warning last week had weighed on the sector, but one trader noted that a lot of buyers came back into Ryanair yesterday and the carrier regained the ground it had given up over the last few sessions.

Rival airline Aer Lingus held up relatively well against the backdrop of an ongoing industrial dispute. The stock inched ahead slightly to just above €1.04.

Packaging group Smurfit Kappa gained on the back of industry consolidation in the US, and finished more than 3 per cent ahead at €8.05.