Market falls as Portugal bailed out

THE ISEQ dipped again yesterday, closing down 35.73 points at 2,940.56, as investors took profit from last week’s strong markets and there was a decrease in interest for riskier stocks.

Portugal became the third euro-zone country to agree to a package with the IMF/EU/ECB.

In the financial sector, AIB closed down 1.7c to 21.2c. Bank of Ireland dropped 0.4c to 24.7c. Irish Life & Permanent lost 0.6c to close at 13.2c. IFG group confirmed it has received an approach to acquire the company, boosting the share price by 25c to €1.75.

In the construction sector, CRH issued a trading update indicating that underlying group revenues increased by 6pc on a like-for-like basis in the first four months of the year. CRH shares decreased 41c to €16.22.

Grafton Group said that turnover for the four months to April 30 amounted to €642m, up 4% compared to the same time last year. Shares in Grafton dropped 6.6c to €3.37 on the day, while Kingspan slid 6c to €6.50.