ISEQ down as construction sector suffers

The ISEQ index of shares closed down 6.11 at 6572.43 today.

The financials, with the exception of Anglo Irish which gained 23c to €10.49, were all down.

AIB shed 14c to close at €17.71, Bank of Ireland was down 13c to €13.37, while Irish Life & Permanent was down 6c to €14.34.

The main mover in construction was Kingspan who said its performance for the first half of this year is well ahead of the same time last year in a trading statement this morning. The Co Cavan based group sees its full year results coming in ahead of market forecasts. Kingspan closed up 29c at €10.65.

However, McInerney Holdings saw its shares fall 1c to €8.49 and CRH fell 6c to €21.72.

These losses came as Ulster Bank Construction Purchasing Managers' Index survey data for June showed further growth for the Irish construction economy.

At 56.6, the index - a seasonally adjusted index designed to measure the overall health of the construction economy - indicated robust growth.

The headline index rose for the second successive month following April's recent low.