Iseq dips as European shares edge lower

The Iseq fell almost 20 points today as construction shares weighed on the market.

Banking stocks throughout Europe were hit by uncertainty over US banking reforms, while miners fell on concern over a potential tightening of China's monetary policy.

However, on the Dublin market, Irish Life and Permanent was the only bank hit by falling share prices, declining 3.2 per cent to €3.17 just after 1.30pm. In contrast, Bank of Ireland and AIB were both trading flat.

Construction stocks were also hit this morning, with Grafton down 1 per cent to €3.22 and CRH losing 1.7 per cent to €17.78.

A report from the Construction Industry Federation said it believed State investment in capital projects would decline over the coming 12 to 18 months, causing a fall in construction output.

Separately, data from UK property site Rightmove said the annual growth in asking prices for residential property in England and Wales slowed in March for the first time in a year. Year-on-year price growth slowed to 5.3 per cent.

Food group Aryzta saw its share price climb 2.2 per cent to €28.79 after it unveiled its interim results. The company this morning said first half profit rose 1.1 per cent to €73.8 million, even as sales declined 7.4 per cent.

Paddy Power also gained this morning, adding 2.1 per cent to €23.25, while Kingspan rose 2 per cent to €6.05.

The Iseq was at 3037, just over half a per cent down, shortly before 2pm.

The euro, meanwhile, slipped on concerns that a potential financial aid package for Greece, being discussed by finance ministers in Brussels, would not be enough to solve the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis.

MSCI's all-country world index was off 0.3 per cent, with the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 down the same and Japan's Nikkei closing up just 0.01 per cent. Wall Street looked set to open lower.

Additional reporting - Reuters