DUBLIN REPORT: Settlement date: February 18th Iseq: 2,862.71 (-39.37)WITH THE US market closed for Presidents' Day and many Asian markets closed for the Chinese New Year, it was going to be a quiet trading day.
Anticipation “rightly or wrongly” that there would be an indication overnight as to what the EU will do regarding Greece also slowed things down, according to traders.
“There was a fear as regards to the contagion effect in the EU with what’s going on with Greece,” one trader said, adding that the lack of an announcement may have had a negative effect on the markets.
When all these factors were taken into account, the result was “exceptionally low” volumes, with one trader estimating that volumes were down to a third of their normal levels.
Index heavyweight CRH marked time, closing at €16.50. “It was pretty much in line with its peers and, taken in that context, it didn’t underperform,” one trader said.
Grafton rallied towards the end of the session following positive news in the rental equipment sector from Speedy Hire earlier in the day. But it still closed down 1.6 per cent at €2.42.
Smurfit Kappa finished down 5.2 per cent at €6.23. However, this was again based on very little volume.
Among the airlines, Ryanair and Aer Lingus both ended weaker – down by 1.7 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively. But traders pointed out that the US market, a big player in the airline sector, was closed, which may have had an impact.
AIB and Bank of Ireland were off on the day, although the latter rallied late in the session. One observer said banking volumes were down due to a lack of liquidity in the market rather than any “big economic reasons”.
However, as one trader cautioned, reading volumes on such trading days is “a dangerous business”.
