The Dublin market ended the week in negative territory, mirroring the movement of its European counterparts which all ended the day lower on the back of negative US economic data and investor fears that recent gains in the market have been premature.
The Iseq had slumped by almost 3.5 per cent by mid-afternoon but regained some ground to finish 2.2 per cent lower at 3,231. It failed to catch up with other European stock markets which managed to make a slightly better comeback by the close of session.
CRH, the main constituent on the ISEQ, dragged the overall index down, finishing the day almost 3 per cent lower - a drop of 56 cent - to close at €18.15.
Falls by the two main banking stocks also weighed on the index. AIB and Bank of Ireland opened about the €3.10 mark but were under pressure during the day, with some analysts noting profit-taking after recent gains in share price.
Bank of Ireland saw most of the investor interest in terms of volume -11 million shares were traded during the session - but its share price was down as low as €2.95 in the afternoon. It regained ground to close at €3.08, a fall of just over 5 per cent. AIB closed below the €3.00 mark at €2.99, a fall of 4 per cent.
Irish Life & Permanent bucked the trend, ending the session almost 1 per cent higher at €5.30.
Airline stocks were down. Volumes were high in Ryanair stocks, after the airline announced it had hedged 50 per cent of its fuel requirements for the first quarter of the 2011 fiscal year. It closed off 7 cent to end at €3.39.
Aer Lingus closed 7 per cent lower at €0.66 as the lack of any new information on restructuring plans at the airline held investors back.
Paddy Power was one of the few stocks to advance, gaining 5 cents in value after it announced that its contract with gaming supplier, Inspired Gaming Group, was renewed.
Housebuilder Abbey advanced 3.6 per cent after it reported some revival of market confidence at its AGM yesterday.
European stock markets all ended the week lower, as unemployment figures from the US fuelled fears that a weak labour market could undermine economic recovery. London's FTSE recorded its fourth consecutive session of losses. It shed 1.2 per cent - a loss of 59 points - to close at 4,989 led by falls in financials and mining and oil stocks.
