Banks take another hit on bleak day for Irish market

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,661.16 (–21.78) Settlement date: October 1stWITH THE ability or otherwise of the Irish State to cope with its debts being such a topic of conversation, it was hardly surprising that yesterday was a dull day on the Dublin Stock Exchange.

“We are dead as a doornail until we get an announcement on Anglo,” said one trader.

Given that backdrop, it was a wonder that the Iseq did not fall further. It finished the day down 0.81 per cent, 54 points off its 12- month low, which was in August.

Of course the banks had a bad day. AIB finished at €0.50 down 5.6 per cent while its much bigger brother, Bank of Ireland ended the day down 7.44 per cent at €0.53. Irish Life and Permanent dropped 2.85 per cent to €1.36.

As one trader quipped, the European Central Bank may be in the market for Irish Government debt, but it is not buying Irish bank shares.

Greencore was one of the few good news stories. Its statement that it expected full-year group operating profits on continuing businesses to be about 20 per cent ahead of the last fiscal year was considered good news by the market. The share finished the day at €1.16, up 1.31 per cent.

Ryanair is due to brief analysts today and traders were expecting positive news. Its share price finished the day at €3.82, down just 0.59 per cent.

The news that UPM-Kymmene Oyj, Europe’s second-biggest paper maker, is in talks to acquire competitor Myllykoski Oyj was a boost to the sector and provided solace to the Smurfit Kappa price, which ended at €7.35, an increase of 0.27 per cent.

DCC announced the appointment of Leslie Van de Walle, who has held positions with Royal Dutch Shell, as a non-executive director. The share price closed at €21.05, a fall of 1.54 per cent.

The largest stock on the Iseq, CRH, finished the day at €12.34, a fall of 0.88 per cent.