ISEQ index brought down by banks

Bank of Ireland shares closed at €10.76 today, down 44c despite an upbeat trading report issued this morning.

BOI expects to publish single digit pre-tax profits figure for the six months to the end of September.

The bank announced that a restructuring of its UK operation could lead to annualised cost reductions of stg£30m within two years.

Analysts believe this could involve some branch closures in Britain.

Cement Road Holdings share price continued to slide down 10c to €16.25.

Ryanair closed at €5.90 as the market awaits news on the European Union’s probe into to its deals with European airports.

It is the first time since early that the shares have continued to trade below €6.

Overall the ISEQ index was down 49.33 points to 4646.03.