Having started off relatively well in early morning trade, the Iseq drifted off during the day, to finish the session just shy of 1 per cent lower, mirroring the European trend, which saw markets remain fairly flat on the day.
It was a lacklustre day in terms of volumes, though some stock-specific news gave rise to activity in early morning trade. DCC posted strong third-quarter results in its interim management statement issued as markets opened.
However, its share price fell back in afternoon trading, closing 1.2 per cent lower at €22.62.
The announcement of management changes at building materials group Grafton which will see former BSS chief executive Gavin Stark replace Michael Chadwick boosted Grafton's share price which closed up 3.6 per cent at €3.55.
Fellow construction stock CRH finished the day close to a half a per cent lower at €15.93, as the market awaited results US peer companies overnight.
Aer Lingus continued to feel the effect of the continuing dispute between the airline and cabin crew on its share price, although it fell by only a fraction of a per cent to €1.019.
While there was some activity in Ryanair, it fell back 1.7 per cent to €3.65, undoing the gains of recent days following its update on Monday, as concerns about oil price weighed on sentiment. According to one broker, the fact that Ryanair tends to be held in industrial portfoilios, may be one reason for its fall, as industrial stocks across Europe took a hit today.
Elsewhere, Bank of Ireland and AIB finished higher in line with banks across Europe. Bank of Ireland added 0.8 per cent to €0.34, while AIB, which is now listed on the ESM, was up 1.6 per cent at just under €0.25. Irish Life and Permanent, however, shed close to 1 per cent to finish at €0.90.
