Iseq: 5,920.59 (-46.57) Settlement date: June 9thIRISH SHARES fell again, closing down 46.57 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 5,920.59, despite a rally yesterday afternoon buoyed by rising US shares.
Declining British stocks, led by further falls in bank shares, dragged down Irish stocks in the morning as concerns about the ability of the British banks to raise more capital from shareholders led the downward trend.
US stocks, rising for the first time in three days, helped reverse the falling Iseq in the afternoon as American Express, the biggest US credit-card lender, said profit would exceed estimates, and new data showed that new jobs were unexpectedly created last month.
Ryanair was the main mover on the Iseq yesterday, as oil prices fell back to $122.50 a barrel. The airline's share price broke the €3 mark, rising to €3.08 in trading at one point yesterday, before ending the day at €3.01, or 6.3 per cent higher. The volume of trading in the airline was described as "reasonable" as 7.5 million shares changed hands. Aer Lingus, which increased fuel surcharges, closed up 3.4 per cent at €1.60. Tullow Oil dropped 1.8 per cent to €11.43.
There was relatively strong trading in Bank of Ireland with more than eight million shares traded. But the bank failed to recover the ground lost on Tuesday, following a profit warning at UK lender Bradford Bingley. The bank rose just 0.13 per cent to €7.60. The performances of the other main Irish bank stocks were also weak. Anglo Irish finished down 1.2 per cent at €7.68, while AIB lost 18 cent, or 1.4 per cent, to finish at €12.40.
The other significant movers on the Dublin market were IFG Group, which rose 6 per cent to €2.23, Greencore, which closed 2.5 per cent higher at €3.29, and Kingspan which closed down 2.7 per cent to €6.50. CRH lost 1.9 per cent of its value to close at €22.56.
