Iseq slips by 36 points

The Iseq had a sluggish morning after news that the price of oil reached its highest point since December.

The Dublin stock exchange saw the index shed 36.31 points to stand at 9,342.33 by 11am.

The financials were mainly negative with the exception of Irish Life and Permanent who saw their stock rise 10c to €19.75. AIB was the biggest faller in the sector with a 17c decline to €22.33 while Anglo Irish Bank slipped eight cents to €16.19.

Bank of Ireland dipped six cents to €16.09 despite seeing their subsidiary, ICS Building Society, announcing an increase in pre-tax profits of 13.6% to €128.8m today.

The bank also issued a review of the Irish property market showing that the Irish housing market is cooling 'softly'. Two construction rivals reacted negatively, Grafton fell 10c to €11.40 but Kingspan tumbled 23c to €19.77.

However, the biggest faller of the morning was business support services group DCC, down 45c to €25.90.

The oil & gas exploration and production company, Providence, was stable at €0.07 after it announced today that it has been granted a new exploration licence in the Celtic Sea Basin.

Elsewhere, food group Kerry decreased 12c to €20.60 and packaging giant Smurfit fell 14c to €18.26.