Weak market reflects European drop

SHARES in Dublin traded ahead for most of the day yesterday, but closed weaker for a third consecutive day, mirroring declines across Europe.

The ISEQ finished at 6758.23, 35.33 points lower.

AIB posted better than expected results yesterday with pre-tax profits of €1.4bn, up from €1.01bn in 2003.

The stock gained 10c to finish at €16.30, a price it has not seen since 1999. Among the other financials, Bank of Ireland gained 9c to €12.97, while Anglo Irish Bank was up 5c to €20.45. Irish Life & Permanent added 20c to €14.95.

CRH gave up 31c to €21.49, Grafton Group shed 20c, while Kingspan fell 12c to €8.16.

Ryanair fell 8c to €6.15 over concerns about fuel prices, while Elan nudged ahead 2c. Eircom, which saw over 4 million shares change hands, closed 5c weaker at €2.12.