Market falls over Greek worries

THE ISEQ index weakened 127.44 points to 2,982.71 yesterday as investors continued to sell off. Governments around the world tried to allay fears about Greece’s debt crisis. The ECB should do whatever is necessary to stop the crisis spreading, including pre-emptive purchases of government bonds, economists noted.

In the financial sector, AIB declined 13.3c to €1.11. Bank of Ireland added 0.3c to €1.42. Irish Life and Permanent dropped 15.5c to €2.29, while insurance company FBD Holdings gave up 50c to €7.10.

In other news, paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa has reported a higher first-quarter core profit, and has forecast overall growth for 2010 as demand picks up. The shares closed down 38c at €6.95.