Iseq falls on Greek worries

Speculation that Germany is preparing for a Greek debt default sparked turmoil in global financial markets today, with weak commodity prices also leading European equities downwards, in what was a resumption of Friday's pattern of mild panic.

The poor sentiment was sealed by a European Commission report warning that sovereign debt levels will continue to increase through next year, as governments continue to struggle with the aftermath of the recession.

An afternoon bounce in trading coincided with a reassuring lack of panic as Wall Street opened, but this couldn't be sustained on the Iseq and it closed down 2.5 per cent, leaving the Dublin market less than 50 points higher than the tumultuous lows of the second week of August.

The big drag on the Iseq was its largest stock, cement-maker CRH, which finished down more than 5 per cent at a closing price of €10.50. However, construction sector analysts at Davy have upgraded the stock to "outperform" based on its cash generation and balance sheet.

Paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa was a heavy faller, plunging 8 per cent to €4.25, amid an environment of softening prices in its sector.

Food group Kerry, which announced its acquisition of German ingredients and flavours manufacturer SuCrest for an undisclosed sum, ended the day down 2.3 per cent to €25.41.

One of the few winners on the day, Origin Enterprises, closed up 6.5 per cent at €3.30, after AB Foods published a trading statement highlighting an "excellent" performance by its agronomy division - a sector in which Origin also operates through its business Masstock.

With banking stocks across Europe making a partial recovery in the afternoon, Bank of Ireland climbed 2.8 per cent to 7 cent, with heavy volumes in the stock.

Ryanair escaped the poor day's trading more lightly than some of the other major stocks, closing down just 0.6 per cent at €3.02.