FURTHER falls among the leaders led to another sharp drop in the Dublin market, but dealers said that turnover was negligible, with some fund managers being entertained in Wembley by London brokers. London dealing desks were virtually deserted in the afternoon, as many brokers extended pre match long lunches long into the afternoon.
The one exception to the thin turnover was Tullow which continued to surge ahead after its £30 million rights issue. Three million shares dealt in London as the shares rose 3p to 94 1/2p sterling, while in Dublin, Tullow closed up 2.4p on 91.4p.
Among the leaders, CRH fell 12p to 620p as sentiment turned against the construction materials sector. This is likely to be a floor for the shares, with Irish investors short of stock using this recent weakness as a buying opportunity. The CRH share may be due for a bounce, as it came off a 633p sterling low in London to close in just 4p on the day on 639p sterling.
Bank shares failed to regain ground, with AIB unchanged on 328p and Bank of Ireland 2 1/2p lower on 427 1/2p. Smurfit closed on just 1/2p on 170 1/2p.
Second liners were the usual mixed bag. After recovering from the recent low, Adare weakened once again and closed down 20p on 450p. Avonmore was 3p weaker on 172p, Crean was unchanged on 253p despite losing the Mars franchise to IAWS. IAWS itself was unchanged despite a suggestion from Goodbody that the new Mars business could be worth £1 million to the company.
