Speculation of interest rate rises by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank produced another splurge of selling of banks stocks on the Irish market and there still seems no sign that a floor has been reached.
Certainly, despite the slump in the share price and the rising yield, there are no indications that bargain-hunters have yet turned their attentions towards the bank stocks.
The big two banks again took the brunt of the downward pressure, with AIB falling as low as €9.05 before closing down 35 cents on the day on €9.20. Bank of Ireland fared little better and hit a low of €6.35 before closing down 25 cents on €6.40. Smaller financials also fell, and Anglo Irish - which has previously shown resilience to the malaise in the sector - was down 6 1/2 cents on €2.03.
The market seems to be confused about what to make of Eircom at the moment, with the shares invariably taking a plunge after a good run. Essentially, Eircom is trading in a range between €4.10 and €4.35, finding support at the lower levels but being hit by profit-takers at the higher level. Yesterday. Eircom hit the high of €4.35 before falling in later trading to close down 7 cents on €4.14.
Elsewhere, Ryanair continued its recent strong run and dealt up 40 cents to a new high of €13.90 while DCC was 15 cents higher on €7.90. CRH rose in early trading but then profit-taking which brought it back to a close of €19.48, down 5 cents.
Technology shares were generally firmer after the Monday weakness, with Baltimore up £1.10 to £67 sterling on the LSE. On NASDAQ, Iona, Elan and Smartforce were all firmer in early trading.
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