Dublin market closes lower

The Iseq index of Irish shares fell almost 1 per cent today, underperforming what was a sluggish performance by most European equity markets.

Stock markets faltered during the trading session, led by the poor performance of bank stocks, as an official from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) declared that advanced economies face "acute" challenges in tackling public debt.

The Irish banks also saw their share prices decline today, following media reports suggesting that the haircuts on National Asset Management Agency (Nama) loans would be higher than the originally anticipated 30 per cent and there was speculation about the capital levels that would ultimately be required.

AIB's share price fell 5.1 per cent to €1.49, while Bank of Ireland dropped 2.95 per cent to €1.24. Goodbody Stockbrokers banking analyst Eamonn Hughes noted that it was now "getting to crunch time" on Nama: next week is expected to be a key week for the toxic loans agency.

There was diverging fortunes for the airline stocks, Aer Lingus and Ryanair. The flag carrier climbed 2.5 per cent to 60 cent, as analysts commented that a potential re-ballot of cabin crew would be positive for shareholders in the stock. Ryanair slipped 1.9 per cent to €3.43.

Building materials group CRH, the largest component stock on the index, fell 1.4 per cent to close at €18.60, as one of its peers in the building sector, Wolseley, reported declining profits and a cautious outlook on non-residential markets.

Elan shook off negative news on its PML drug to rise 2.26 per cent to €5.57, while ferries company Irish Continental Group attracted above average trading ahead of the publication of its full-year results tomorrow. The stock closed up almost 1 per cent at €15.45.

The big results of the week will come courtesy of Independent News & Media on Wednesday, at which dealers expect the company to make an announcement on the sale of the London Independent titles.