Iseq follows other markets lower

Dublin's ISEQ index finished lower this evening in line with other European markets as financials continued to give up ground, and index heavyweight CRH fell off towards the end of the session.

Irish Life and Permanent's Interim Management Statement released this morning set the tone for the day. The company's announcement that it had raised its impairment provisions for the second half of 2009 and that margins would be tighter than expected sent the share price down throughout the session, with the stock closing 13.5 per cent lower at €3.82, a fall of almost 60 cent.

Other financials were down on the back of IL&P's falls. AIB closed almost 3 per cent lower at €1.75 as controversy about the appointment and renumeration of the bank's incoming Chief Executive rumbled on throughout the day. Bank of Ireland was off 4 per cent on the day, closing at €1.65, a fall of 7 cent.

Ferry Group Irish Continental Group (ICG) was also the focus of investor attention as developer Liam Carroll's 29 per cent shareholding in the company crossed at €12.20. ICG's share price ended the day 1.5 per cent lower at €13.20.

Construction giant CRH finished the session at the lower end of the scale, having traded around the €17.40 mark during the session. It closed 33 cent off at €17.16, a drop of almost 2 per cent.

Kingspan failed to sustain the gains it enjoyed on Monday following its trading update. It lost almost 1.5 per cent to close at €5.54.

Few stocks ended the session in positive territory, with most of the gains made on low volumes. Pharmaceutical company Elan put in a solid performance, however, remaining higher throughout the session, although falling back slightly to end the day 4 cents up at €4.35.

Overall, traders noted that markets continued to be weak, with trading volumes very light.

Stock markets across Europe also ended the session lower, with banks among the top losers. In Paris, the CAC fell 34 points to close at 3829, while the Frankfurt Dax shed 26 points, to end the session at 5.778.

London's FTSE closed 0.7 per cent lower at 5,346, reversing four consecutive sessions of gains, mainly due to a fall in mining and bank stocks.

In the US, Federal Reserve data showed US industrial production rose by a smaller-than-expected 0.1 per cent in October. At 6 pm GMT the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq were flat, at 10,408 and 2,196 respectively.