Iseq opens weak and fails to make any recovery

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,685.49 (-46.34) Settlement date: September 28thIT WAS another grim day across trading floors in Dublin. As the Irish-German spread continued to rise, Irish equities were also affected, with the Iseq spending the day in negative territory.

Renewed concerns about Ireland’s sovereign debt position and banking system, together with disappointing GDP figures, permeated investor sentiment across Europe, with all main European markets ending the day in the red, driven down by sharp falls in financials.

The Iseq opened weak and failed to make a recovery during the day, with financial stocks trading well down for the session. AIB finished down 5.5 per cent, closing at €0.56, amid speculation that a sale of MT would happen sooner rather than later, although traders warned of the implications of the declining share price on any imminent deal.

Bank of Ireland also fell by 5.5 per cent, despite widespread belief that it is the best placed of the Irish financials. It closed at €0.60, while Irish Life Permanent shed 4.7 per cent to €1.38.

Few stocks advanced yesterday as the market picked up on “any hint of negativity”, according to one Dublin trader.

CRH continued to slide, hitting €12.25 at one point, but recovering somewhat to close at €12.68, a fall of 1 per cent, as an air of uncertainty surrounded the stock as investors awaited an update on the US highway bill.

Sectoral concerns continued to weigh on Smurfit Kappa which shed 1.7 per cent to €7.07, amid concerns about overcapacity and pricing in the paper industry.

Both the airline stocks were slightly weaker than in previous days. Having hit €1.05 on Wednesday, Aer Lingus finished the day flat at €1.03. Ryanair finished almost 0.7 per cent lower at €3.77, as investors held back after the airline failed to give a trading update at Wednesday’s annual meeting.