ISEQ rallies after 150-point fall

The Irish Stock Exchange has stabilised somewhat after a disastrous start this morning.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares has declined by 54.25 points to 3,995.94 by mid-morning today, after being down more than 150 points at one stage.

Following turbulence in the world financial stage, all of the Irish banks suffered major losses. Allied Irish Banks was the biggest faller, losing 37c to €6.58. Anglo Irish Bank fell 26c to €4.29, with Bank of Ireland and Irish Life And Permanent both shedding 23c to fall to €4.39 and €5.11 respectively.

There were some encouraging signs elsewhere however. Tullow Oil overcame yesterday’s fall to gain 11c to €8.76. Kerry Group showed an impressive gain of 25c to €20.90. C&C jumped 10c to €2.36.

In the construction sector, Grafton enjoyed a 13c climb to €3.58. CRH (down 10c to €17.60) and Kingspan (down 11c to €6.82) did not fare as well, however.