CRH drags sluggish Iseq

Monday sluggishness was the prevailing market trend on the Iseq index of Irish shares today, as the index closed down almost 3 per cent - slightly underperforming the major European indices - as trading volumes remained below average.

A negative day for building materials group CRH, the largest component stock of the index by some distance, was the main reason for the Iseq's slump, although heavy-hitters Ryanair and pharmaceutical group Elan also capitulated to the mood.

CRH, which releases an important interim management statement (IMS) tomorrow morning, sold off into the close of trading and finished down 5 per cent at a price of €15.16. The trading statement due tomorrow should give further detail of the benefit to the group of the US highway infrastructure programme.

Dealers described Ryanair as being "uncharacteristically" weak, on a day when its rival EasyJet reported that its June traffic had increased 0.8 per cent, but that its load factor had declined 0.6 per cent to 86.3 per cent. Ryanair's corresponding load factor, published on Friday, was 85 per cent, up 1 per cent on June 2008.

EasyJet's share price held its own in London trading, gaining 2.2 per cent, but Ryanair fell 4 per cent to €3.10.

Weaker crude oil prices after last week's mini-spike led Dragon Oil down 5 per cent to €3.79, while the boost to Elan provided by news of its deal with Johnson & Johnson wore off, and it fell 7.2 per cent to €5.42.

Smurfit Kappa fell the furthest of the main market stocks, shedding 10 per cent to close at €3.23 as the paper and packaging sector remains subdued by recession.

Food stocks Aryzta and Glanbia were among the few gainers, but drinks group C&C promptly gave up the gains it made on Friday, plummeting 7.8 per cent.