Market slips despite Elan flurry

A mixed start to the week saw the Iseq dropping 6.81 points to 4,072.85 despite an early surge in pharmaceutical company Elan after news of a buyout by US drugmaker Perrigo.

Financial stocks had the usual varying fortunes, with AIB adding 0.1c to 5.7c and Bank of Ireland dipping 0.1c to 17.5c with both banks due to report interim results this week.

Meanwhile, Permanent TSB Group was unchanged at 3c with insurer FBD Holdings gaining 5c to €15.60.

Elsewhere, Elan finished up 41c to €11.55 having peaked at €12.57 earlier.

In other news Ryanair Holdings shed 20c to €6.97 after delivering first-quarter net profits of €78.1m which were in line with market expectations.