Irish market moves 'sideways'

Ahead of Sunday’s European Summit there was little direction on the Irish market today, with one Dublin broker noting that it spent a lot of the session “going sideways”.

After ebbing and flowing throughout the day, the Iseq closed almost flat at 2,610.83, down by 9.5 points or 0.4 per cent.

Exploration firm Dragon Oil enjoyed a strong bounce on the back of its interim statement, in which it showed strong production levels. It advanced by 18 cent, or 3.2 per cent to climb to €5.69.

There was a little bit of strength in C&C, and it came off its lows of yesterday following the departure of CEO John Dunsmore. It added 7 cent, or 2.4 per cent, to climb to €2.79.

Brokers noted some buying interest coming into Greencore, as it added 1 cent, or 1.7 per cent to advance to €0.60.

Paddy Power had another good day, advancing by 57 cent, or 1.4 per cent, to finish the day up at €40.00.

Food group Kerry notched up another 1 per cent advance, adding 26 cent to finish the day up at €26.55.

Building materials group CRH finished flat on the day, although it had been stronger during the day, out-performing its peers. It closed at €13.44.

Financials were weak on the bank of uncertainty in Europe. IFG lost 5 cent on the day, falling by 4.2 per cent to €1.13, while FBD was also in the red. It gave up 25 cent, or 3.8 per cent to close down at €6.30.

Kingspan was weak on the day, losing 33 cent or 5.3 per cent, to fall back to €5.90. Aryzta was also down on the day. It lost €1.25, or 3.7 per cent, to fall back to €32.60.

Following an announcement that the US FDA has extended the review of an application to update prescribing information for multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri, Elan fell back. It lost 28 cent, or 3.6 per cent, to close down at €7.55.

Ryanair had a reasonable day, dropping 3 cent, or 1 per cent, to close at €3.20, while Aer Lingus was also down on the day. It lost 2 cent, or 2.7 per cent, to finish at €0.73.

In London the FTSE 100 closed down 1.2 per cent, in Paris the CAC 40 gave up 2.3 per cent and in Frankfurt, the DAX lost 2.5 per cent.