Market slips after recent gains

Shares in Dublin fell for the first day in three as investors capitalised on recent gains. At the closing bell the ISEQ index had fallen 62.50 points to 7422.96.

Banking stocks were among the main casualties with AIB and Bank of Ireland shedding 35c and 18c. Anglo Irish Bank weakened 25c to €13.00 while Irish Life & Permanent dropped 28c to €17.04.

In construction, CRH fell 15c to €25.35 while Kingspan was 24c lower at €10.85. Meanwhile, Grafton Group dropped 3c to €9.09 following figures released showing British merchanting volumes declined 4.1% in November.

Elsewhere, Elan lost 16c to €11.86 despite announcing a new licensing agreement with EntreMed on the development of cancer treatment drug Panzem. IFG Group climbed 5c to €1.55, Independent News & Media dipped 3c to €2.51 while Fyffes peeled back 8c to €2.22.