Banks set tone as market falls back

SHARES in Dublin traded in negative territory dragged by the market heavyweights, with the banks the main laggards. The ISEQ index began the week 41.05 points lower at 6223.79.

Investors took profits on the two main banks, with AIB and Bank of Ireland lighter by 16c and 17c respectively. Irish Life & Permanent fell 15c to €14.80 despite reporting year-end results in which pre-tax profits rose 56% last year. Anglo-Irish bucked the trend, up 8c to €20.40.

Construction giants CRH declined by 25c while budget carrier Ryanair was lighter by 6c to close at €6.04. With over 2.63 million shares traded, Eircom slipped 2c while the much-maligned Elan picked up 20c to close at €5.00.