Market virtually static on slow day

THE Irish market traded inside a fairly narrow range yesterday as volumes continued to be weak and the major stock showed very little volatility.

The ISEQ index ended the day slightly off by 12.19 points at 3,024.75.

Banks had a negative day on the whole with the country’s largest bank, AIB, giving up 2c to close at €1.38. Bank of Ireland followed suit, shipping 1.2c to €1.42, while Irish Life and Permanent managed to make slight headway, tacking on 11c to €3.50.

The construction sector was mixed on the day as market heavyweight CRH dropped 13.6c to €17.62. Kingspan was 18c down, at €6.15, while Grafton Group managed to buck the trend by adding 5c to €2.87.

Elsewhere, Food producer Kerry Group moved on 6c to €21.61.