Market slumps by almost 4 per cent

Market report:The Iseq felt the pain of the troubled US sub-prime mortgage sector yesterday, falling in line with global stock markets.

The index closed down 3.8 per cent, which was marginally better than the 4.1 per cent slump recorded by the FTSE 100, but hardly a day that investors will look back on with fondness.

Among the financials, Anglo Irish Bank held up the best, losing a mere 2.4 per cent to close at €13.45 amid speculation that billionaire businessman Seán Quinn was buying up stock. With 12.5 million shares changing hands, the stock was also the busiest of the day.

Bank of Ireland fell 5.5 per cent to close at €12.94, while AIB dropped almost 3 per cent to close at a round €18.00. CRH came off 3.8 per cent, finishing at €30.03.

It was the second poor day in a row for packaging group Smurfit Kappa, which fell 4.25 per cent, while insurance company FBD was a significant faller, closing down almost 8 per cent at €24.50.

With Ryanair buying up a block of its shares, Aer Lingus fell just 2 cent to €2.40. Ryanair itself, a stock commonly held in Contracts for Difference (CFDs), went down 3.7 per cent to close at €5.06.

Independent News & Media shed more than 5 per cent, losing 17 cent to finish the day at €3.05.

Building materials firm Kingspan also fell more than 5 per cent, as did Paddy Power amid some profit-taking, but there was a stronger performance from McInerney, which fell just 1.39 per cent despite the perceived slowdown in the Irish housing sector. Just two Iseq companies closed up: Datalex and Newcourt.

Settlement day: August 22nd