Poor start for ISEQ

The ISEQ index of Irish shares dropped slightly by 33.53 points to 7850.14 by 11am today.

In the financial sector, Irish Life & Permanent was alone in making a gain, up a modest 5c to €15.60. Elsewhere, Anglo Irish Bank tumbled 30c to €12.96, with Allied Irish Bank (down 20c to €16.80) and Bank of Ireland (down 5c to €12.95) both losing ground.

It has been a mixed morning in the construction sector, with Kingspan the best performer, climbing 17c to €15.57. Grafton was up 16c to €8.01. CRH fell 11c to €27.74.

C&C Groups took a 12c hit to move to €5.68, whilst Kerry Group shot up 28c to €21.08.

There was good gains elsewhere for Icon (up 35c to €36.50) and Paddy Power (up 25c to €24.85).