BofI a big faller as banks and airlines have bad day

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq:3,055.13 (-26.66) Settlement date:May 20th

AFTER A weak start yesterday morning, the Dublin market regained some ground, but it was still in negative territory at the closing bell.

Bank of Ireland was one of the biggest fallers on the day, slipping more than 5 per cent to close below €1.46. The bank released the terms of its rights issue yesterday, confirming that the rights price will be at a 64 per cent discount to Friday’s closing price.

However, one broker said that there was “no major reaction” to the news “as people knew the information was coming”, adding that the drop in the bank’s share price was probably unrelated to the announcement.

AIB was also weaker on the day, falling more than 3 per cent to just under €1.21.

Budget airline Ryanair was off almost 4 per cent, bringing it below €3.23.

The restriction of flights in Europe over the weekend due to the volcanic ash cloud may have been a contributory factor, one broker said, as the continuing disruption creates uncertainty for the aviation industry.

Rival Aer Lingus was also down, slipping almost 3 per cent to 71 cent on reasonable volume.

Exploration company Tullow Oil announced yesterday that it had signed an agreement for a new licence in Suriname. Although the stock slipped a little on the Dublin market, it rose slightly on the London Stock Exchange to finish at £11.13.

Industrials holdings group DCC, which is due to report its full-year results today, lost 17 cent, bringing it to €18.58.

Cement giant CRH settled at €18.20 by the close, leaving it broadly unchanged. The stock had swung between a high of €18.60 and a low of €17.80 during yesterday’s session.

Meanwhile, Smurfit Kappa added more than 1 per cent to close at €7.20.