Oil prices and housing warning sends ISEQ tumbling

The Irish stock exchange started the day off in negative territory this morning after oil prices rose again and the Central Bank warned of a slump in the housing market today.

The ISEQ stood at 7,771.39 by 11am after a fall of 70.81 points.

The price of Brent North Sea crude oil reached an all-time peak of $69.71 a barrel this morning. The previous high was $69.70 reached on Monday.

It had a positive effect on oil companies Dragon, up 10c to €3, and Tullow oil who saw their share price rise 12c to €5.43.

However, Ryanair's share price fell 18c to €7.20, despite their announcement of nine new routes from its Frankfurt Hahn base this morning.

Shipping group Irish Continental saw their price tumble 30c to €11.85.

The construction sector also had a bad morning after the Central Bank warned of an increased risk of a sudden slump in the housing market after months of constant price rises. The Central Bank said the re-acceleration of prices at 11% in February, compared to 7% last autumn was worrying as it "increases the risk of a sharp correction in the future".

CRH's share prices responded the most with a 21c fall to €27.99, while rivals Grafton saw their stock go down 13c to €10.45. House builder Abbey experienced a more modest fall of 10c to €11.10.

The financial sector didn't help matters for the ISEQ as all the banking institutions saw a decrease in their stock prices. The biggest faller was Irish Life and Permanent who tumbled 30c to €19.60. AIB went down 18c to €18.57 and Anglo Irish Bank fell 16c to €12.75. Bank of Ireland slipped 15c to €14.65.

Elsewhere, the food sector was mixed as IAWS went down 18c to €14.32 while Kerry Group saw their stock rise 10c to €19.70.

Iona Technologies had a 22c fall to €3.28 while pharmaceutical giant Elan bucked the morning trend with a 29c rise to stand at €11.55.