Market gains but weak overall

THE ISEQ index yesterday closed up 6.38 points at 2,873.07.

The market was weak throughout morning trading as weak performances by the main banks and Ryanair dragged the exchange lower. A strong opening by the US markets helped the Irish market to stabilise somewhat during the afternoon session.

In the financial sector, there is still continued concern over the slow progress through the Dáil of the Government’s €54 billion NAMA scheme. AIB closed down 19.8c at €1.67. Bank of Ireland fell 10c to €1.60, while Irish Life & Permanent bucked the trend with a rise of 31c to €5.24.

In construction, shares in CRH jumped 51.1c to €17.16, Grafton weakened 18c to €3.22, while Kingspan fell 24c to €5.51.

In other news, shares in Ryanair weakened 5.6c to €2.89 after it posted an 80% rise in first-half profit but warned that full-year profits will be adversely affected by the fall in passenger traffic.