Elan bucks negative trend on ISEQ

The ISEQ index of Irish shares finished in the red today, down 21.55 points to 7820.65.

Dragon Oil was among the few stocks to see a rise in value, up 11c to €3.01. Tullow Oil also saw an increase, up 12c to 5.43. 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, which was reached on Monday.

The performance of pharmaceutical company Elan prevented an overall negative picture from pulling the ISEQ down further. A 64c rise saw Elan's share price close at €11.90.

Financial stocks all suffered losses and it was a similar picture, though the losses were smaller, in the construction sector.