Iseq shows marginal decline

The Irish index of shares was down marginally this afternoon, as global markets showed a similar downturn.

By 1.28pm, the Iseq was down 6.2 points to trade at 3,081.73.

Banking shares gained during the morning's trade, with AIB up 2 per cent to €1.64 and Bank of Ireland showing a similar gain to €1.72.

Irish Life and Permanent was up 2.5 per cent to €3.60.

This morning, the National Treasury Mangement Agency said it expects the National Asset Management Agency (Nama) to buy €80 billion of toxic loans from banks between February and the third quarter. Nama will operate under the auspices of the NTMA.

Kingspan was up more than 4 per cent this afternoon, trading at €6.74.

No-frills airline Ryanair was off 1.1 per cent by 1.15pm, as the company rejected speculation it would make a third bid for rival airline Aer Lingus.

Passenger numbers at the airline were up 12 per cent for the calendar year 2009, putting the company on target to carry more than 66 million people in the current fiscal year.

Aer Lingus shares were down slightly by 1.15pm, shedding 0.4 per cent to 63 cent after clawing back losses earlier that saw it shed 2.6 per cent.

Britain's top share index fell in midday trade, pressured by index heavyweight Vodafone and mining stocks as investors digested the Bank of England's decision to leave interest rates unchanged.

At 1221 GMT, the FTSE 100 index was down 10.55 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,519.49, slipping back after closing 0.1 per cent higher yesterday at a fresh 16-month high.

The Bank of England (BoE) kept the scale of its asset purchase programme unchanged at £200 billion and left UK interest rates at 0.5 per cent.

Sterling was steady against the dollar and euro after the BoE kept its monetary policy steady.

US stock index futures held early losses after the government reported that the number of people filing initial claims for unemployment insurance rose less than expected.

S&P 500 futures fell 2.9 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 24 points and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 3 points.

Initial claims rose by only 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 434,000 in the week ended Jan. 2 after declining for two consecutive weeks. Economists forecast a 447,000 figure for the latest week.

Additional reporting - Reuters