Shares in the Irish market slumped today as bad news from the UK financial and housing sectors filtered through to Dublin.
As a result banking and construction stocks on the Iseq came under pressure which helped push the Irish exchange down more than 45 points or around 0.75 per cent to 6,098.
Earlier in the day, shares in UK housebuilder Persimmon fell 9.1 per cent after it said sales in 2008 were down 24 percent year on year and it expected the market to become “more challenging” given buyers’ concerns about the credit crisis.
This had a knock-on effect on construction stocks in Dublin. Among the hardest hit here was McInerney which was down nearly 8 per cent at $0.93 at 4.30pm. Kingspan also took a hammering as it shed 48 cents to €7.57.
Royal Bank of Scotland’s announcement of a £12 billion (€15 billion) rights issue yesterday was followed by further bad news from European banks today.
In the UK, Barclays fell 2.4 percent as the bank said profits in the first quarter fell from a year earlier after its investment bank and fund management arms were hit by tough financial market conditions.
Credit Suisse announced 5.3 billion Swiss francs in credit-related writedowns in the first quarter, causing a bigger-than-expected loss.
The Dublin market suffered the spillover effects of negative sentiment from financial markets elsewhere.
Among the financials in Dublin, FBD was nearly 2 per cent weaker at €30.50. Irish Life & Permanent had shed 26 cents to €10.84, Bank of Ireland had dropped 9 cents to €8.89, while AIB was 7 cents weaker at €13.07
Most European stocks fell after German business confidence sank to the lowest in two years, Nobel Biocare slashed its sales estimate, earnings at Astra Zeneca trailed analysts’ estimates and Persimmon’s outlook weighed on UK homebuilders.