Iseq: 2,985.36 (-19.68) Settlement date: May 19thAFTER A sporadic session, the Irish market closed 0.65 per cent off yesterday as investors adopted a conservative stance.
“Risk-off was the theme, hence equity markets were lower and hence Ireland was lower,” a Dublin broker explained.
Several of last week’s strongest performers found themselves in the red yesterday.
Food ingredients manufacturer Kerry Group saw its share price hit record highs in recent sessions after a successful share placing last Wednesday, but it lost quite a bit of ground yesterday. The stock finished 80 cents down, or almost 3 per cent, at €29.00.
However a broker noted that this is still considerably higher than the €28.25 placing price level. “Holders in general will still be quite happy with that,” he said.
Insulation specialist Kingspan also pared its gains of last week. The stock had enjoyed a strong run after issuing an interim management statement last Thursday, but it shed almost 3.5 per cent, or about 25 cents, to close at €6.85 yesterday. One trader attributed the fall to “profit-taking following a decent run”, and said there was “nothing untoward” behind the move.
CRH underperformed its peers after failing to get much of a bid during the day. The cement stock lost more than 1 per cent, or 19 cent, to finish at €15.89.
Builders merchant and DIY group Grafton Group enjoyed a decent turnaround during yesterday’s session on good volume, and closed 1.5 cent up at about €3.506.
In terms of newsflow, it was a relatively quiet session on the Irish market yesterday, with the Iseq mainly tracking the rest of Europe.
Volumes were quite sporadic, with brokers seeing a lot of activity around the opening and close of the session, but a lull in between.
Overall the Iseq shed almost 20 points to close at 2,985.36.
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