Markets round-up: Slow start to reporting season

A tentative opening to the week saw the ISEQ close 6 points lower at 6,382 as investors nervously await second quarter results…

A tentative opening to the week saw the ISEQ close 6 points lower at 6,382 as investors nervously await second quarter results expected over the next two weeks.

AIB shed 7 cents to 13.13 today. Earlier AIB announced it was selling its Singapore holdings at a profit of approximately euro 93 million.

Bank of Ireland was firmer today after adding 33 cents to euro 12.05.

The ongoing battle for control of Eircom gained 2 cents to euro 1.33. But other telecom and technology stocks again looked weaker with Horizon down 10 cents to euro 1.20 and Datalex off 15 cents at euro 105.

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London shares closed weaker close to late session lows after a mixed opening on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 closed down 19.9 points at 5,517.1, slightly above a late afternoon low of 5,503.6.

Trading was very thin according to brokers. The mixed performance underlined the weakness in British blue chips, which until the start of the US session were fairly static.

At the London close, the Dow Jones which dipped in and out of the red in early trading, was up 13.13 points higher at 10,522.12, while the Nasdaq composite index was down 9.75 points at 2,074.71.