Market Report:Although the Irish market dipped slightly today, the banking sector continued its upward trajectory, driven by growing investor confidence.
Much depends on what finance minister Brian Lenihan announces tomorrow in relation to dealing with the banks’ problem loans, but investors reacted favourably today to media reports over the weekend that a hybrid bad bank/asset insurance scheme is likely to be adopted.
AIB traded as high as €1.30, and although it settled back down to €1.17 by the end of the session, it was still up 15 cent on the day.
Bank of Ireland also put in a very strong performance, closing up almost 8 cent at €0.88, after touching €1.00 at one point.
The main newsflow of the day came from Aer Lingus which abruptly announced the resignation of its chief executive Dermot Mannion.
The former state carrier enjoyed a “decent pop”, according to brokers, trading up by over 7 per cent, or 5 cent, to close at €0.72. There was “decent volume” in the stock, and investors saw the announcement as a positive development, one broker said.
The Iseq index’s biggest component was off almost 4 per cent at €16.25 on the day, but given its good run of late, brokers said that they didn’t read too much into the fall.
Global stocks reversed course today and fell as optimism about the global economy faded. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 18.98 points, or 2.25 per cent, at 823.52.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.7 per cent lower at 766.09 points.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed at 3,993.54 points, down 36.13 or 0.90 per cent.
Frankfurt's DAX index ended at 4,349.81 points, down 35.18 or 0.80 per cent, while in Paris the CAC-40 index closed at 2,929.75 points, down 28.99 or 0.98 per cent.
( Additional reporting: Reuters )