Markets subdued amid slow trading

THERE WERE a few ripples but no waves on the markets yesterday where trading remained relatively slow.

“In general the markets have been and continue to be quite subdued while volumes remain relatively light,” one trader noted, adding that the only real movement was ahead of the ECB press conference. It prompted a “bit of an uptick” into the conference, but that had petered out by the afternoon.

Unemployment claims statistics released in the US at lunchtime were steady, in that fewer Americans had made new unemployment insurance claims than had been expected.

In the opinion of one stockbroker, that had kept the markets on an even keel.

DUBLIN

IT WAS quiet on the Iseq yesterday with one trader saying: “The upshot is markets are relatively flat. The Iseq was down nine points over the day and the FTSE was up two points, so very small moves across Europe.”

It was “steady as she goes” for Aer Lingus, according to the same analyst, who noted that the release of positive passenger figures driven mainly by a better long-haul performance had helped this.

“Aer Lingus has been performing quite well,” another trader said, noting that the company closed at €1.095 having risen by 1.39 per cent , bringing it closer to breaking €1.10.

Ryanair, meanwhile, was up almost 0.5 per cent over the course of the day, closing at €4.5, which one analyst attributed to “reasonable sentiment” in recent days.

While CRH has drifted somewhat recently, it generated reasonable volumes, about 3 million, across both the Irish and British markets finishing 1.05 per cent lower, down to €14.62.

C&C meanwhile was up by 2.11 per cent at the end of trading, closing at €3.824.

Bank of Ireland breached the 10 cents mark, closing at 10.1 cents on the day, up 3.06 per cent. One trader noted was not a huge price, meaning it did not take a lot to move it.

LONDON

THE UK’s FTSE 100 Index closed little changed, after swinging between gains and losses at least 20 times yesterday, as central-bank policy makers kept borrowing costs at record lows.

Next and Kingfisher led retailers higher, advancing more than 1 per cent. Tate and Lyle climbed 1.9 per cent as Credit Suisse Group raised its recommendation for the shares.

Tesco lost 3 per cent to 318.15 pence, the largest decline in almost nine months.

Commodity producers declined.

BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, fell 1.6 per cent to 1,912.5p. Xstrata lost 2.1 per cent to 948.3p. Glencore slid 0.8 per cent to 336.5 pence and BP, Europe’s second-largest oil company, retreated 1.1 per cent to 434.2p.