The comments earlier this week by US Federal Reserve chairman, Mr Alan Greenspan continued to dominate in Dublin, dampening the spirits of Irish investors yesterday. But some analysts said there were signs of a reversal, especially among large companies.
"The market was weaker; there's no surprise in that after the turmoil last night in the US," one dealer said. "Foreign markets are dictating the pace."
Analysts said buyers were being sensible rather than over-cautious, pitching their bids on the market with care. "But it is not completely one-sided; most of the bigger stocks closed higher than they were trading earlier in the day," said one observer.
Allied Irish Banks, which began the day at £10.62 reached as low as £10.25 before recovering to close with a sterling trade down just over 11p at £10.51. Bank of Ireland started at £14.48, falling to £14.05, but closed down 24p at the sterling equivalent of £14.24.
Among other financial sector shares, Anglo Irish Bank climbed 2p to close at 195p, Irish Life dropped 15.5p to close the week at 643.5p, while Irish Permanent dropped 15p to end on 915p.
Investors in Irish industrial shares saw interest in CRH, with the firm closing 2p down at £10.00. The was also significant interest in Smurfit and the paper and packaging company ended the day where it began, at 180p.
Other movers included drug company Elan, which jumped almost 343p to £52.26, and Kerry Group, which fell 15p to 945p.
