Early plunge for ISEQ

The ISEQ index of Irish shares endured a torrid morning of trading today, falling 117.81 points to 7667.50 by 11.05am.

The financials did not do well, with Bank of Ireland the only institution in positive territory, inching up 2c to €11.88. The rest all fell, with Allied Irish Bank the worst affected, plunging 40c to €16.20. Elsewhere, Anglo Irish Bank was down 28c to €12.37, with Irish Life & Permanent falling 17c to €14.91.

A groundswell of pessimism pervaded the construction sector, with all companies suffering significant losses. Chief among them was CRH, which plummeted 71c to €27.24. Abbey lost 30c to €7.50.

Kingspan Group and McInerney Holdings both fell 29c to €16.19 and €1.53 respectively, after the latter announced a fall in profits before tax for the first six months of 2007. Grafton (down 15c to €8.33) and Readymix (down 13c to €1.65) did relatively well in the circumstances.

The food and drink sector fared little better, with IAWS enduring the biggest decline so far, down 40c to €15.20. C&C fell 38c to €6.24, with Kerry Group down 10c to €20.70.

Tullow Oil was down 33c to €8.32 following reports of tensions between Uganda and the DRC. Ryanair slipped 10c to €4.90.

There was only one gain of any significance on the Exchange so far, that coming for Elan, which climbed 16c to €14.44.