Day of mixed fortunes for financials in subdued trade

Iseq: 2,826.74 (+23.15)IT WAS a day of mixed fortunes on the Iseq index of Irish shares yesterday, with two of the banking stocks falling heavily and two of them making gains.

The overall index finished up 23 points, a gain of less than 1 per cent, making its performance more subdued than those of the FTSE, the French CAC and the German DAX.

The quiet Dublin trading session started steadily but drifted by mid-morning.

The two big financial losers on the day were Bank of Ireland, which fell 15.6 per cent to €1.62, and Anglo Irish Bank, which dropped more than 14 per cent to €2.00.

However, AIB and Irish Life Permanent both managed gains, while major stock CRH also finished up 4.5 per cent, although AIB and CRH's moves were likely to be a partial reaction by buyers to a sharp dip in its share price prior to the close of Thursday's session.

CRH looks set to benefit from a future US infrastructure stimulus package.

Other stocks showing gains included paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa, which bounced 7 per cent to €2.10, and building group Grafton, which rose 5.8 per cent to €2.70.

Independent News Media was another climber, rising more than 7 per cent to €0.73, with plenty of buyers at the 72 cent and 73 cent level.

Pharmaceutical group Elan added 10 per cent.

Builders McInerney also made gains.

Fruit group Fyffes was among the fallers, dropping 6.6 per cent to €0.28, but sandwich and cake maker Greencore fell 3 per cent to €1.24.

Food group Aryzta rose slightly to €24.60, although Tim Hortons, the Canadian doughnut maker with which it has a joint venture, reported a mixed set of results.

Settlement date: November 12th