European shares dipped by midsession today as concerns about debt problems in Dubai rippled through the market, with banking and oil stocks among the worst performers.
By 1144 am, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was down 0.2 pe rcent at 985.97 points, having earlier been as high as 988.89. The index has gained 53 per cent since falling to a record low in early March and is up 18 per cent for the year.
In Dublin, the Iseq index of leading shares bucked the trend and was up 9.38 points at 2801.53 at 1.30pm.
Total Produce, the fruit, vegetable and flower distributor, which was spun out from Fyffes in 2006, was up 6 per cent or 2 cents to €0.35 after it announced this morning it had the British exotic fruits importer Utopia for an undisclosed sum.
Banks put in a mixed performance with AIB down 1 cent at €1.59, Bank of Ireland down 2 cents to €1.64 and Irish Life & Permanent up 11 cents to €3.54.
Other movers on the Dublin market included Aryzta, down 54 cents to €24.55, and bookmaker Paddy Power, down 13 cents to €24.02.
Across Europe, energy stocks were among the worst performers as oil dropped 5 per cent on debt default fears in Dubai. ENI, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were down 0.3 to 1.2 per cent.
Banks were also weaker. HSBC, Standard Chartered, Banco Santander and Lloyds Banking Group were down 1.5 per cent to 4.1 per cent.
Construction stocks performed well. Saint-Gobain, Lafarge and Bouygues were up 2 to 2.5 per cent.
The U.S stock markets reopen today after the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday but will close early at 1 pm (6pm Irish time).
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index and Germany's DAX were both down 0.3 per cent and France's CAC 40 was 0.1 per cent lower.
Reuters