Profit-taking hits market sentiment

THE Irish market retreated yesterday as profit-taking weighed on the index. The ISEQ fell 28.48 points from Friday's close, to finish at 6780.43.

The financials led the market lower, with AIB, Bank of Ireland and Anglo all falling. Anglo Irish closed at €11.12, 18c weaker, while AIB and Bank of Ireland fell 26c and 14c respectively. Irish Life & Permanent added 12c to €15.10.

Grafton shed 11c to €8.93. Kingspan gained 17c to €10.90, while CRH remained steady at €22.60.

Jurys Doyle hit a 52-week high of €18.75 before settling back at €18.50 with 1.09 million shares traded.

DCC shed €1.69 to €16.70 with just over 525,000 shares traded, as the company said that profits may be affected due to difficult trading at its IT distribution business.