First Active up on weak day

IRISH stocks moved lower yesterday with the ISEQ index dropping 14.85 points to 3848.09.

The highlight among the financial stocks was First Active which gained 25c to 5.70 following the announcement of their final results, where the company stated that it intends to return about €160 million of surplus capital to investors. Bank of Ireland fell 18c to 9.25, Anglo Irish Bank slipped 6c to 6.64, while Allied Irish Bank and Irish Life & Permanent were unchanged at 12.45 and 10.20, respectively. Overall the ISEQ financial index dropped 47.76 points to 7724.78.

Food stocks were weaker, with Kerry Group losing 10c to 12.30, IAWS Group dropped 5c to 7.60 and Greencore eased 9c to 2.48.

Meanwhile, construction stocks moved higher. CRH and Abbey both gained 10c to 11.40 and 4.70 respectively, Kingspan added 5c to 1.85 while McInerney holdings rose 4c to 2.14.

Elsewhere, DCC tumbled 60c to 10.00 and Waterford Wedgwood was 2c off at 41c due to concerns about the company's exposure to the US dollar. Independent News & Media, 4c was lower at 1.52 and Galen Holdings advanced 8c to 4.85.