Iseq: 3,002.31 (-23.50) Settlement date: May 17thTHE ISEQ'S recent rally came to a halt yesterday, with the index just about maintaining its foothold above the key 3,000 level as global markets sold off.
Investors pulled in their horns yesterday as falling commodity prices raised questions about the strength of the global recovery. The announcement in the afternoon that China had increased its bank reserve requirements by 50 basis points also dampened equity markets.
On the domestic front, there was plenty of stock-specific news to drive activity, with a number of updates and results published during the session.
Investors reacted positively to Kingspan’s quarter one results which showed that the insulation company made a positive start to the year with total sales up 33 per cent. The stock was lifted more than 4 per cent, or 28 cent, to €6.90, making it one of the strongest performers on the day.
Kerry Group also delivered a decent turn, given the backdrop of a down market. The food ingredients group added almost 2 per cent, or 58 cent, to finish at €29.89.
Elsewhere in the sector, fruit importer Fyffes failed to get much of a bounce despite announcing it has increased its profit target for the year. The stocked edged slightly higher to close at 42.3 cent.
Just before the close, Petroceltic announced its intention to raise about $60 million (€42 million) through a placing of ordinary shares. The funds raised will be used to advance the company’s drilling programmes in Algeria and Italy. The market did not have time to digest this due to its late timing, and the stock was unchanged at 13.2 cent yesterday.
Brokers reported low trading volumes across the market. Overall, the Iseq index fell in line with its European peers, shedding 0.77 per cent to close at 3,002.31.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)