Iseq eases as most stocks consolidate

MARKETS SLIPPED slightly but overall held their gains yesterday, with the Dublin exchange mirroring movements elsewhere in Europe.

DUBLIN

CRH, RYANAIR, Kerry, Paddy Power and Bank of Ireland were among the most traded stocks on the Dublin exchange. Trading, which had been strong on Thursday, eased, with most prices consolidating their position.

The Iseq ended the session down 1.03 per cent, which compared reasonably well its peers elsewhere in Europe.

CRH closed at €16.10, a fall of 0.62 per cent after its 5.2 per cent rise on Thursday. The market’s view of the US economy and the housing sector there has been supporting the stock in recent times. It was May 2010 when it was last above €16.

Ryanair has been flying around the €4 mark for the first time since January 2011. The stock closed yesterday at €3.96, down 0.95 per cent. Aer Lingus closed at €0.71, a fall of 1.39 per cent.

European banks had a good day yesterday but calls for debt forgiveness here may have affected the price of Bank of Ireland shares. They closed at €0.10, up 2.89 per cent, a lesser percentage increase than its European colleagues.

Goldman Sachs has warned that CC stock could be at risk if a price war erupts between UK food retailers. However it held up well on the Dublin exchange, closing at €3.18, a rise of 1.57 per cent.

Global food group Aryzta continued to slip. It finished the day down 5 per cent, at €34.2. Traders felt the fall in the share price should end next week.

Greencore had its last day on the Dublin exchange. Traders said it had reasonable volumes, and that its price held up reasonably given its good performance on Thursday. It closed the day at €0.64 , a fall of 2.73 per cent. The share price will be quoted on the London exchange on Monday.

Dragon Oil, which is due to issue a trading update on Monday, closed at €5.95, down 0.17 per cent. Glanbia ended 2.59 per cent lower, to land at €4.91.

LONDON

THE FTSE 100 snapped a four-session rally yesterday, weighed down by weak Chinese macro-economic data, disappointing earnings from key US companies and uncertainty over the outcome of Greece’s debt negotiations.

Mining stocks shed 0.9 per cent, having risen nearly 10 per cent over the previous eight sessions, as data showed manufacturing activity in China, the world’s largest metals consumer, got off to a slow start this year.

Other sectors sensitive to economic activity, such as industrial engineering and oil and gas, also fell, with Weir and Petrofac among the biggest casualties on concerns regarding their earnings prospects.

The FTSE 100 ended the session 0.2 per cent lower, but recorded a 1.6 per cent gain for the week, which saw trading volume pick up momentum, especially among financials, after a sluggish start to January.

Banks clocked up a ninth consecutive session of gains, reaching levels last seen in October, as investors turned more positive on the sector after a move by the European Central Bank to inject liquidity into the market.

EUROPE

EUROPEAN STOCKS retreated from a five-month high as US home sales rose less than forecast, adding to concern that gains in equities have outpaced the outlook for economic growth.

Cie. de Saint-Gobain, Europe’s largest building-materials supplier, led construction shares lower, falling 2 per cent. National Bank of Greece rose for an eighth day as talks between Greek officials and private creditors entered a third day.

The benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.3 per cent 5at the close of trading, having earlier fallen as much as 0.6 per cent. The gauge has still advanced 4.6 per cent in 2012, the best start to a year since 1997.

National benchmark indexes fell in 12 of the 18 western European markets. France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX slid 0.2 per cent as Greece’s ASE rallied 2.7 per cent to a two-month high.

US

STOCKS POSTED their best week since Christmas, even with a mixed finish after strong earnings from tech bellwethers IBM and Intel contrasted with Google’s disappointing report.

IBM lifted the Dow a day after it offered a strong outlook and results from several big-tech names signalled they were shaking off nervousness about economic growth and boosting technology spending. IBM’s stock rose 4.4 per cent to $188.52.

Google slid 8.4 per cent to $585.99 as quarterly profit and revenue missed expectations on declining search advertising rates.

General Electric was unchanged at $19.15 after the conglomerate’s revenues missed consensus forecasts.

American Express fell 1.8 per cent to $50.04 as it set aside more money to cover bad loans. Intel rose 2.9 per cent to $26.38, while Microsoft gained 5.7 per cent to $29.71. – ( Bloomberg)