Market down after earlier gain

THE ISEQ index closed down 33.82 points at 2,330.36, having been up over 54 points at one stage. There was much selling on the market as some investors cashed in on recent gains.

In the financial sector, the banks had another strong showing. AIB jumped a further 14c to €1.02, Bank of Ireland progressed 13c to 81c, Irish Life and Permanent increased 19c to €1.74, while insurance group FBD leapt 23c to €6.59.

In the construction sector, CRH weakened 77c to €16.92, Grafton Group rose 13c to €2.08, while Kingspan Group made a gain of 14c to €3.11.

In other news, Ryanair announced that they carried 4.7 million passengers in March, 5% more than a year earlier. The stock dipped 10c to €3.