Low volumes traded mirror trend across rest of Europe

Iseq: 2638.62 (-40.74) Settlement date: November 22ndTHE DUBLIN market followed the rest of Europe yesterday as many investors opted to sit things out while politicians attempted to get the grips with the current twist in the euro sovereign debt crisis.

Traders said that much of the action was a response to “rumour and chatter” and pointed out that volumes in both Dublin and the rest of Europe were light.

“Most people have either opted to take their medicine or take their profits,” one said yesterday.

The volume of shares traded on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 600 was 20 per cent below the 20-day average for the pan-European index.

The market’s biggest stock, international building materials group, CRH, was down 2.24 per cent at €12.88, mainly on the back of poor performances from peers such as Heidelberg, which ended the day more than 2.5 per cent off.

Only around 800,000 shares in the Irish company, were traded in Dublin yesterday.

CRH accounts for close to one-third of the index and movements in its stock have a proportionate impact on the Iseq, which was itself 1.52 per cent off yesterday.

Similarly, drinks group, C&C suffered as one of its peers, SAB Miller, reported mixed results today.

The Irish group, responsible for Bulmer’s and Magnier’s cider, was down 1.18 per cent at €2.94.

DCC, whose fuel and heating oil businesses are entering a key period of the year for revenues and earnings, was down 0.23 per cent at €17.51 after British utility, Centrica, which supplies gas and electricity to consumers, said that the unseasonably mild winter weather could affect its performance. Around 1.2 million of its shares changed hands yesterday.

Some of the market’s other leading stocks offered little comfort.

Ryanair, one of a number of airlines demanding that the UK abandon airport tax, ended the day down 0.8 per cent down at €3.627, although it had been off around 1.6 per cent earlier in the day.

International packaging group, Smurfit Kappa, was down 0.22 per cent at €4.49. It was down by as much as 2.8 per cent earlier in the day.

Independent News & Media, which is due to report results today, lost 2 per cent to close at 24.5 cent.