Anglo jitters drag Iseq lower

Jitters over what tomorrow’s Anglo Irish Bank results will reveal and another fall in construction stocks dragged the Irish market down today, with most leading shares finishing down or flat.

The Iseq index of Irish shares was off 2.65 per cent at 2,675.69 ahead of the close of business this afternoon. In Europe, the Stoxx 600 index, which tracks leading shares in western Europe's key markets, was down 1.4 per cent at 207.52 at 4pm. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 28.69 points lower at 4,387.54.

Concerns in some quarters that the cost of borrowing could still stymie growth hit the Iseq's peers.

Dealers in Dublin said today that "everything was down" but they looked like staging a rally at the close of business as the New York market began to come back following a fall yesterday.

The market's biggest company, CRH, was down 4.5 per cent at €16.78. Investors sold the stock after its smaller British rival, Wolseley, reported an 80 per cent fall in profits. The British company had profits of £17 million sterling on the back of a £3.6 billion turnover, indicating that margins in the sector are under pressure.

The uncertainty over when Anglo Irish Bank will publish its results, which are due tomorrow, and fears over what they might contain, drove investors away from the banks. AIB was down almost 5 per cent at €1.278, while Bank of Ireland dipped 3.1 per cent to €1.56. Investors are also wary of what the outcome of the National Asset Management Agency process might mean for the banks.

Irish Life & Permanent looked like a stellar performer earlier when an aggressive buyer, possibly an institution, put in an order that drove its price past the €3.50 mark before it slipped back to close unchanged on its opening quote of €3.29.

Low-cost airline, Ryanair, had a good day, adding 1.4 per cent to close at €3.603.

Dealers said volumes were light enough, and virtually non-existent when it came to the smaller stocks.