Rally ends as investors lock in profits

THE recent rally on world bourses came to an end yesterday as most world indices lost ground as investors sought to lock in recent profits.

The ISEQ index slipped 117.13 points to 2,327.65.

Just as the financials had driven the upward bounce in world markets for the past week or so, yesterday’s session saw the bank stocks firmly amongst main laggards. AIB shed 30c to €1.36, while Bank of Ireland and Irish Life and Permanent followed suit giving up 15c and 27c to 64c and 1.75 respectively.