Airlines lose more ground as Iseq finishes flat

Iseq: 2,965.12 (+0.27) Settlement date: April 13th:THE ISEQ ended the week with a flat performance, closing down a couple of points despite advances of half a per cent or more on the major European indices.

After a week of healthy buyer interest, Ryanair attracted decent volume again yesterday, but the stock dipped in the middle of the day when the US markets opened. It recovered into the close, finishing off just 1.3 per cent at €3.35. Rival Aer Lingus finished off 1 per cent at 73 cent.

Airlines in Europe have seen growth in passenger numbers year-on-year, traffic statistics published by AF-KLM yesterday confirmed.

Activity in banking stocks continues to be driven by intraday trading, resulting in ongoing price volatility. AIB, Bank of Ireland and Irish Life Permanent all finished down, with AIB falling the most in percentage terms – down 6 per cent – despite only losing one cent.

Grafton, which owns a number of DIY chains, had a strong day’s trading, rising 2.1 per cent to €3.45.

Irish Continental closed up eight cent at €17.50, after two of its directors – Eamonn Rothwell and Garry O’Dea – sold part of their shareholding.

Pharmaceutical group Elan capped off its week with a 1.1 per cent climb to €5.41.

Paddy Power closed down 20 cent at €30.75. However, one dealer noted that the stock has been the beneficiary of negative sentiment towards the London-listed Bwin.party, which was hit by a negative German tax ruling during the week. Investors have been switching out of Bwin.party into Paddy Power as a result, the dealer said.

Exploration group Kenmare surged 11.7 per cent to 57 cent a climb of six cent.

On very low volumes, recruitment group CPL posted a 3.3 per cent rise in its stock, which closed at €3.05 up 10 cent.