Unfavourable report hits banks

SHARES in Dublin fell for the first day in four. The ISEQ fell 23.21 points to finish at 6397.69 at the closing bell.

The financial sector lost some ground after a leading British broker downgraded both AIB and Bank of Ireland. AIB dipped 5c to 15.50, while Bank of Ireland took a hit of 34c to 12.06. In the second line Anglo Irish gave up 29c while Irish Life and Permanent rose 1c to 14.21.

In construction, Grafton group firmed a further 17c to close at a new all-time high of 8.67. Heiton also saw gains of 8c to 7.70. Elsewhere, Kingspan lost 12c to 7.26 while McInerney finished unchanged at 6.90.

Other movers on the day included Elan, which strengthened 15c to 21.45 and low cost airline Ryanair nudging ahead 1c.