ISEQ down, Galen posts loss

The ISEQ index closed down 12.97 points at 5417.27, with pharmaceutical company Galen posting a loss of 4.6%.

The company sold its UK-based product sales and marketing business for £40m (€59.5m). Its share price plummeted 56c to €11.65.

AIB was the most-traded share on the index, closing up 0.07 at €12.27. Chairman Dermot Gleeson spoke of the strong start made by the bank this year at the company’s AGM today, predicting record double-digit earnings growth in its operating divisions.

Anglo Irish bank closed up 13c, at €13.78, on the back of its announcement that it will announce interim results for the six months to end March, 2004, next week.

Bank of Ireland was down 6c at €10.29, following its announcement of a reshuffle of its Group Executive Committee, to take effect from July 1.

Exploration company Providence Resources was unchanged at €0.05. The company held an EGM today, in which shareholders were told that it expects to raise €18m in order to develop its natural resources portfolio.

Elan was a big mover, up 45c at €20.00. The company will release its 2004 Q1 results on May 13.

In Frankfurt, the Dax closed down 56.83 at 4008.91, down 1.4%; while in Paris, the CAC 40 closed down 33.20 at 3689.39, down 0.89%.

The Dow Jones is currently down 5.11 at 10337.49. The latest US government figures indicate lower-than-expected economic growth, at 4.1% for the first quarter of this year.

Oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell announced strong first-quarter results, with a gross profit of 9%. However, net profit fell 16% to $4.43bn in the period from Q1 2003.

The Nasdaq is currently down 9.06 points at 1443.97.