Financials drop while CRH has 'topsy turvy' day

MARKET REPORT: It was a case of swings and roundabouts in Dublin yesterday as the market moved into positive territory in the morning before falling back in the afternoon. The Iseq closed 28.62 down at 7,887.32.

Bank of Ireland was the most actively traded of the financials, with more than 3.7 million units changing hands in Dublin. Plenty of people were willing to sell, as its European and UK peers also suffered, and it closed one cent off at €15.03.

More than 1.7 million AIB shares were traded. It closed 32 cent down at €19.35.

Irish Life & Permanent closed unchanged at €18.35, but traders said it touched highs of €18.64 before the sellers moved in. Anglo Irish Bank lost nine cent to close at €13.73 but traded at €13.95 at one point.

Building materials giant CRH was "topsy turvy" in the words of one trader. It closed 25 cent off at €27.36, but actually touched €27.85 during the day.

Its smaller competitor Readymix is expected to publish 2005 figures today. Goodbody issued a note predicting that earnings would be flat.

Fyffes shed four cent to close at €2.04 after 2.6 million shares were traded. The company is expected to announce details of the spin-off of its property interests at its annual general meeting today.

Paddy Power, which reported a 2 per cent fall in profits on Wednesday, hit a losing streak, dropping 40 cent to close at €12.60. At one stage it was trading as low as €12.37 before value seekers moved in and supported it.

Mirror Group figures, showing a weak advertising market in the UK and soft circulation figures, hit Independent News & Media, closing four cent down at €2.63.

Ryanair gained three cent to close at €7.85.

Insurer FBD added eight cent to close at €40.50. Goodbody raised its target price for the stock to €40. FBD is due to report next week. One competitor, Hibernian, yesterday said 2005 operating profits were up 3.4 per cent at €264 million.