Aer Lingus a big loser on bad day

THE ISEQ index closed down 38.22 points yesterday at 1,947.41 points. The market bucked the trend in markets across Europe and the US as shares in Aer Lingus plummeted following its profit warning.

The stock dived by 21c to close at 58c after it reported an e119 million pre-tax loss for 2008 and said it was unlikely to meet its forecast of a profit for this year.

The financial stocks had a mixed day. AIB added 3c to 43c, Bank of Ireland was unchanged at 21c, Irish Life and Permanent dipped 11c to 77c, while insurance group FBD dropped 30c to e5.75.