Big banks fall steeply in line with European financials

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 3,053.97 (-45.71) Settlement date: January 15thTHE DUBLIN market finished the session in negative territory in line with markets across Europe as European equities retreated from a 15-month high on Monday to finish lower yesterday.

Having enjoyed a rally since the New Year, the two main banks saw steep falls yesterday, mirroring the trajectory of European financials. Volumes on the two main banking stocks were high.

As Bank of Ireland shareholders voted to participate in the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) – despite voicing their anger at management – the bank’s share price was down throughout the session, falling off towards the end of trading to close 8 per cent lower.

AIB saw even steeper falls, shedding almost 11 per cent to end the session at just under €1.45.

In contrast, Irish Life & Permanent put in a solid performance, ending the day flat at €3.50, with one trader noting that IL&P was becoming dissociated from the other two financial stocks, participating neither in last week’s rally or the sell-off in the main banking stocks yesterday.

The performance of the two main constituents on the ISEQ – construction stock CRH and budget airline Ryanair – weighed on the index. Both ended the day in the red, with traders noting profit-taking on Ryanair which shed just over 1 per cent, while CRH finished 25 cent down at €18.20 in line with its European peers.

However, CRH outperformed other construction-related stocks on the ISEQ yesterday. Building materials group Kingspan shed 2.5 per cent to close at €6.75, while Grafton lost just over 2 per cent to end at €3.13.

Fruit group Fyffes was among the best performers yesterday. Having finished the session flat on Monday, the share price gained ground yesterday, gaining more than 2 per cent.