Iseq ends in negative territory

European equities edged lower in relatively quiet trading today, as upbeat sentiment on the completion of a Greek debt swap quickly ceded to concerns about borrowing levels in other parts of the euro zone, notably Spain. This sparked pressure on bank shares across Europe.

Markets were also weighed down by a report showing a slower than expected pace in exports from China, which dragged commodities lower.

In Dublin, the Iseq retreated 1.75 per cent, dragged down by a 0.8 per cent decline in cement-maker CRH as well as a fall of 4.7 per cent in building materials company Kingspan, where there was a shareholder attempting to sell a block of shares.

Bakery group Aryzta, which has its primary listing in Zurich, published interim results showing a 0.9 per cent increase in revenues to €1.9 billion - a performance described by dealers as “reasonably positive”, but the stock finished down slightly, having achieved a high closing price in Switzerland on Friday.

Elsewhere in its sector, there was decent volume in food group Glanbia at the €5.95 level, though the stock finished lower at €5.93. Drinks group C&C enjoyed a 2.6 per cent climb to €3.86 after an analyst at a UK broker put out a positive note on the stock.

Aer Lingus was one of the best performers of the day, advancing 3.45 per cent to 90 cent. A report in The Irish Times that its US partner JetBlue Airways may be interesting in buying the State’s 25 per cent holding in the airline “probably didn’t do any harm” to its share price, according to one Dublin dealer.

Among the other main movers, Ryanair declined 1.25 per cent to €4.23, there was selling pressure in Dragon Oil’s stock, which fell 3 per cent to €7.33 and Bank of Ireland fell in line with weak investor sentiment towards banking stocks across Europe.

In London, Britain’s blue-chip index ended with a small gain, as profit-taking on mining companies and banks was offset by gains among defensive shares. The FTSE 100 index ended up 0.1 per cent, with the index only moving into positive territory late in the session, in what traders interpreted as a signal investors were willing to buy on any index dip.

Traders said some investors were rotating out of banks into real estate groups, encouraged by improving sentiment on the commercial property market after a major acquisition involving French property developer Klepierre on Thursday. Defensive stocks also outperformed, led by Morrison Supermarkets, while food producer Unilever and general retailer Kingfisher were also strong.

National benchmark indexes declined in 11 of the 18 western-European markets. Germany’s DAX index added 0.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 index rose 0.1 per cent.

US stocks were little changed in early trading, as investors weighed whether a Chinese slowdown will lead to an easing of its monetary policy.