Iseq off to slow start

The Iseq index got off to a slow start today and was down slightly in early trading with Fyffes, CRH, AIB and Greencore among those shedding value.

The index was at 2941.75 at 12.15pm, down about a quarter of one per cent on the day.

Fruit group Fyffes was the biggest loser, falling almost 6 per cent this morning to €0.31. Greencore, which announced plans to sell its Dutch-based convenience foods business Greencore Continental, was down almost 2 per cent to €1.30.

On the back of strong results published this morning, house building group Abbey Plc surged 2.7 per cent to €4.47.

Bank of Ireland, which has received European Commission approval for a restructuring plan, was up more than 1 per cent to €0.75, while shares in Irish Life & Permanent also increased to €1.60. AIB was the poorest performer among the financials this morning, down about half a per cent.

European share prices dipped today, as investors took a breather after a 10 day recovery rally bracing themselves for results due from JPMorgan before the US markets open.

The UK's FTSE 100 index was down 0.3 per cent, Germany's DAX index was flat, and France's CAC 40 recorded a small loss, down 0.1 per cent.
Japan's Nikkei closed 1.1 per cent down at 9,685 points, while the Hang Seng in Hong Kong dropped 1.5 per cent to 20,255.