Market drops after bright start

THE ISEQ started strongly but lost its way in the afternoon, closing up 7.2 points at 7317.73.

AIB closed up 25c at €18.40, while Bank of Ireland added 15c to €14.15. Anglo Irish finished 1c higher at €11.28 while Irish Life & Permanent crept up 5c to €18.

In construction CRH shed 39c to €24.11. Grafton lost 25c on the day while Kingspan climbed 9c to €12.90.

C&C Group was boosted by news that a 5% holding in the company owned by BC Partners was snapped up on Thursday. The stock closed 8c stronger at €6.70

Elsewhere, Elan fell 25c to €12.65 despite trading at around €13 for most of the day. Ryanair shed 5c to €7.11 and Paddy Power jumped 30c to €12.80.