THE ISEQ found itself in negative territory again yesterday despite gains being made in most other European markets. The Irish market closed around 0.5 per cent weaker as it shed 32.73 points to 5,956.55, although volumes were generally light.

Downgrades from a number of stockbroking houses for Grafton and Kingspan, due largely to their exposure to sterling, saw those stocks come under pressure.

Grafton shed 12 cent to €5.37 - a drop of more than 2 per cent - with more than 780,000 shares traded.

There was good volume traded in Kingspan with around 1.8 million shares changing hands. It dropped below the €8 mark as it lost 19 cent to €7.81. The stock has now fallen by around €1 in the space of a week.

Other construction stocks fared no better. McInerney slid back four cent to €1.06, while CRH eased back nine cent to €23.36.

Among the financials, Anglo Irish Bank was the star performer as it bounced back, adding 16 cent to €7.89 with around 1.3 million shares traded. However, AIB was 18 cent weaker at €12.77, while Bank of Ireland eased back 20 cent to €8.80.

Also falling back were Irish Life & Permanent, which shed 13 cent to €11.25, while FBD was marginally weaker at €33, a drop of 10 cent.

Record oil prices led to weakness in Ryanair. It slipped more than 3.6 per cent to €2.65. However, the oil spike was good news for Tullow, which advanced more than 2 per cent as it added 19 cent to €8.69.

Among other gainers was Paddy Power, which regained a lot of the ground lost when it was sold off on Monday. It posted a gain of 80 cent to €21.60. C&C also put in a solid day, gaining nearly 5 per cent to close at €4.20, while Glanbia was more than 2 per cent stronger at €4.89.