Shares weaken in Dublin

SHARES in Dublin were weaker yesterday, with the ISEQ index falling 86.03 points to 3923.97.

This is the lowest close since 9 October 1998, when the ISEQ fell to 3,767.

The thrust of this weakness came from the banking stocks. The country’s biggest lenders tracked declines by European rivals as an unexpected drop in French consumer spending fuelled concern about the outlook for economies in the region. Bank of Ireland fell 35c to 10.00 and Allied Irish Bank slipped 45c to 11.60. Irish Life and Permanent followed with a 25c drop to 11.35 while Anglo Irish Bank added 2c to 5.82. Overall the ISEQ Financial index fell 238.93 points to 7706.99.