Weaker international markets meant that Irish stocks were generally down, but there was no great rush to sell. Trading volumes in most of the leaders were pretty light, with Anglo Irish Bank being the most active stock with just 1.4 million shares changing hands.
The Irish market remains one of the best performers in Europe this year. While the composition of the Irish market with its low TMT weighting and strong defensive properties means that it is in a better position than most to withstand big falls in the Nasdaq, analysts say that sustained weakness in international technology stocks will undoubtedly affect Irish share prices.
Among the leaders, Bank of Ireland recovered from early weakness, closing unchanged on #10.00. AIB was the biggest faller among the leaders, losing 27 cents to #11.11. For the first time since springing its massive deep discount rights issue, CRH shares weakened, closing down 14 cents on #18.30 while the nil paid rights were also 14 cents lower on #7.51.
Smurfit apparently cannot break through the #2.00 barrier. Even the Kappa takeover of Assi-Doman at an earnings multiple one third higher than Smurfit could not boost the Irish stocks. The Assi-Doman takeover might suggest a sum-of-the-parts valuation for Smurfit of more than #3.10, but there is no sign that the share is ready to go anywhere near that price.
