ISEQ continues negative trend

The ISEQ ended the week on a negative note today as it fell 7.15 points to 5586.04, with the biggest falls recorded by building group Abbey and pharmaceutical firm Warner Chilcott.

Warner Chilcott's shares tumbled 31 cent to stand at €11.69 for the day, while rival Elan saw a more modest fall of 10c to €17.00.

Abbey recovered slightly from this morning's 30c fall to record a 25c decrease by the end of the day to €8.20.

Abbey announced this morning that it was to move its listing from the Official List of the Irish Stock Exchange to the Developing Companies Market of the Irish Stock Exchange. In the UK, the company is moving from the Official List of the UK Listing Authority to the Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.

Abbey said it expects the listings to be cancelled and the admission to the DCM and AIM to become effective from November 16.

"After careful consideration and wide consultation, the board of Abbey has concluded that the AIM together with the DCM are the most appropriate markets for its shares," a statement from the company said, adding that: "The AIM is a fast growing market focussed on growing companies."

The construction sector was in general decline today with, amongst others, Heiton falling 15c to €6.60 and CRH down 12c to €18.75.

News was mixed for the financials, AIB fell by five cent to €13.75 while Bank of Ireland was down seven cent to €10.92. Some positive territory was gained by Irish Life and Permanent (+9 to €12.91) and Anglo Irish Bank (+24 to €15.22).

Technology firm Iona also felt the downward trend as their share price fell by 15c to €3.50.