Banks main losers as property slows

Dublin report:The banks were the main losers in Dublin yesterday with the negative sentiment surrounding the Irish property market continuing to weigh on shares.

Anglo Irish Bank was down 4.6 per cent to €12.30, following reports that it was considering the future of its subsidiary in Switzerland.

AIB declined by 3 per cent to €16.63 while Bank of Ireland closed the day 3.2 per cent down at €12.34.

Irish Life & Permanent fell by 4.3 per cent to €15.40. Traders said financial stocks would probably remain under pressure in the short term until some positive data emerges in relation to the property market.

Building materials group CRH was 1.3 per cent off at €27.34. This followed recent downgrades from international brokers.

The main winners in Dublin yesterday were Elan and Aer Lingus.

Elan's shares rose by 6.6 per cent to €15.80 on news that it had appointed Lehman Brothers to advise it on its options in relation to its multiple sclerosis treatment Tysabri.

This follows Friday's news from Biogen - Elan's 50 per cent joint venture partner in Tysabri - that it had received expressions of interest in buying the company.

News that Aer Lingus had averted a damaging strike by reaching an agreement with its pilots on recruitment at new bases boosted its share price by more than 3.5 per cent to €2.37.

Merrion managed a placing of more than 9 million shares at €2.30 in the airline yesterday morning. The shares were sold by a US hedge fund and bought by a number of institutions.

It was also a busy day in Ryanair shares. More than 9.4 million shares were traded in the low fares airline, which closed the day up 1.8 per cent at €5.65.