Shares drop for second day running

Shares in Dublin closed in the red for the second day running as the Irish market mirrored declines across Britain and the rest of Europe.

The ISEQ index gave up 71.87 points to 6081.39 with the banking sector feeling most of the effect.

The financial sector succumbed to profit-taking with AIB slipping 26c to €16.46 with over 3.5 million shares traded while, Bank of Ireland slipped 3c to €12.35. In the second line, Anglo-Irish took a hit of 35c to close at €19.10 while Irish Life and Permanent closed unchanged at €13.85.

In construction, Kingspan received the all clear from the competition authority on the acquisition of timber-frame manufacturer Century Homes but eased 7c to €9.47. CRH and Grafton Group also saw falls yesterday, down 39c and 15c respectively.

Elsewhere, Ryanair finished 19c lighter while pharmaceutical company Elan shed 5c to €3.20.