CRH gains as Ryanair drags Iseq down

Dublin report:The Iseq index of Irish shares was the poor relation of the European stock markets yesterday, being the only one to finish in negative territory.

Among the major stocks, building materials group CRHwas the best performer, climbing 2.69 per cent to close at €36.30, up 95 cent. It had a volatile day's trading, swinging from €34.14 to €37.03 over the course of the day. The stock rose in line with the FTSE 350 construction index, which climbed 3 per cent due to merger and acquisition activity in the sector.

The Iseq finished down 20 points, a slight fall, largely because of a negative day's trading from Bank of Irelandand Ryanair. The former dropped 2.15 per cent, shedding 36 cent to close at €16.36.

Ryanair was the heaviest faller of the day, down 22 cent to €5.58. There were some buyers in the stock, which traded as high as €5.88, but in the end the sellers won out, pushing it down.

There was also some profit-taking in Anglo Irish Bank, which has first-half results out next Thursday. It attracted heavy trading, finishing down 20 cent at €17.20, falling just over 1 per cent.

With Bank of Ireland struggling and Irish Life & Permanentalso dropping 1 per cent, AIBwas the best performer among the financials, adding nine cent to close at €23.08.

Food group Kerrywas back in the market yesterday, buying 525,000 ordinary shares at an average price of €22.40, while drinks group C&Cwas down more than 1 per cent as a result of profit-taking. It closed at €12.57.

It was a good day for the Fyffes triumvirate, with Blackrockmoving ahead a healthy 4.26 per cent, adding two cent to close at 49 cent. Total Producefinished flat but saw good interest, while Fyffesitself closed strongly at €1.08, up three cent.