Market continues to slide

THE ISEQ index closed down 16.78 points yesterday at 1,964.34. The Irish market was more stable after the sharp fall in markets at home and abroad on Monday. However, investors still remain extremely cautious.

The financial stocks had a quiet day. AIB fell 4c to 42c, Bank of Ireland dipped 1c to 19c and Irish Life and Permanent was unchanged at 72c.

In construction, CRH posted pre-tax profits of e1.62bn for 2008, a 14% decrease on the previous year and warned that 2009 was looking extremely challenging. Its shares closed up 15c at e15.55 having been as low as e14.52 at one stage. Elsewhere, Grafton Group shed 1c to e1.31 and Kingspan moved up 1c to e2.13.