Profit-taking after an excellent run brought a halt to the gallop by Irish bank stocks and most closed lower, although trading volumes were modest. "Some people began taking profits but there was no great rush to sell," commented one dealer.
Anglo Irish Bank - whose share price has doubled this year - lost 21 cents to €4.45, while AIB fell 59 cents to €12.91. Bank of Ireland - likely to benefit from buying triggered by its inclusion in the MSCI index - was just seven cents lower on €11.63 and may perform better than its peers in the weeks ahead because of the MSCI factor.
The main feature among industrial stocks was some unusually heavy dealing in two food stocks, Glanbia and Golden Vale. Glanbia was the most active stock on the day with almost 3.5 million shares trading as the price drifted three cents to €0.88. About two million of those shares are understood to involve buying by British institutional investors. There has been a decided shift in sentiment in Glanbia's favour in recent weeks and company broker Davy is expecting a move through €1.00.
Golden Vale was the other heavily traded stock with 1.8 million shares changing hands as the share drifted two cents to €0.98. Dealers were unable to explain the size of the Golden Vale share trading but inevitably any heavy trading in the stock will lead to speculation that Mr Dermot Desmond's IIU may be in the market.
Barlo shares fell 11 cents to €0.85 as the group sounded a warning about difficult trading conditions in Europe, Eircom was one cent firmer on €1.16, while Jurys fell 70 cents to €9.10, a fall probably related to the stock's removal from the MSCI. Green Property, an addition to the MSCI, was 20 cents lower on €7.20 after disclosing that it had bought back 100,000 shares at prices between €7.20 and €7.40.
The main feature in New York was a near 19 per cent rise by Trinity Biotech, which was trading 38 US cents higher on $2.40. Elan traded in size but by midday on the NYSE was $1.75 lower on $55.02.
In London, Tullow was unchanged on 93p sterling, as Schroders disclosed that it had sold more than a million shares.
