DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,811.73 (–61.34) Settlement date: November 6thFINANCIAL STOCKS suffered another day of sell-offs yesterday as Irish Life and Permanent, AIB and Bank of Ireland all finished well down at close of business.
In what market traders termed a bleak day for the Iseq, Irish Life and Permanent finished at €4.33, down 17.37 per cent, AIB closed at €1.45, down 13.73 per cent, while Bank of Ireland also finished down at €1.41, a drop of 12.19 per cent.
Traders speculated that aggressive selling of Irish financials could be down to international fund managers looking elsewhere to generate money, a reaction to speculation that Irish banks may not be able to opt for rights issues until the New Year. In particular the decision by Lloyds that it was planning to raise £13.5 billion in the Britain’s biggest rights issue may make it hard for Irish lenders to raise additional capital.
Index staple C&C finished on a high at €2.55, up 4.08 per cent on yesterday’s close, while pharmaceutical group Elan finished at €3.78, falling back from a daily high of €3.86 but up 2.16 per cent overall.
Food conglomerate Glanbia was the other main gainer, finishing at €2.70, up 2.66 per cent on the previous day’s close.
Ryanair also closed strongly at €2.93, up 1.24 per cent and outperforming the weak airline sector despite disappointing market reaction to Monday’s results.
CRH, which accounts for about a third of the index, finished down 1.28 per cent at €16.94. Grafton also slipped, closing at €3.20, 0.62 per cent down.
Elsewhere, Independent News and Media closed at €0.20, down 4.76 per cent on yesterday’s close following news that shareholders had rebuffed proposals by its second biggest investor Denis O’Brien to remove Brian Hillery as chairman and to appoint a new senior independent director.
Dragon Oil finished the day down slightly at €4.94.
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