Mixed showing for banks as ISEQ sheds nearly 1%

DUBLIN REPORT: Shares lost nearly 1 per cent of their value but the market fared much better than its European counterparts, most of whom reported losses in the region of 4 to 5 per cent.

Settlement Day: July 24th

Dealers said the market had consistently outperformed on the downside to date this year and yesterday was no exception although trading volumes generally were light.

The banking sector turned in a mixed performance with AIB shrugging off the general weakness to close five cents higher at €12.80. Bank of Ireland lost 10 cents to €11.60, Irish Life & Permanent was down 15 cents at €13.65 while Anglo Irish Bank gained three cents to €6.43.

Industrials generally finished lower with CRH closing three cents down at €16.35 while Ryanair shed 27 cents to €5.60.

The pharmaceutical and technology sector were harder hit. Elan continued to slip, shedding 30 cents to €1.90 in Dublin. In New York, it was down 7 per cent at $1.92 in late European trade.

Galen also took a pasting, losing 60 cents or more than 11 per cent, to €4.75 amid ongoing concerns about the link between hormone replacement therapy and cancer.

Technology stocks remained in the doldrums, not helped by dour outlooks from sector giants like Sun Mircosystems.

Iona lost 50 cents to €3.00 in Dublin and was down more than 9 per cent at $2.45 on the Nasdaq. Trintech shed 5 per cent on the Neuer Markt to close at €1.25 but lost more than 14 per cent on the Nasdaq to $1.20.

In London, where shares lost 4.6 per cent, Vodafone fell by 5.5 per cent to 96 pence sterling.