ISEQ down 4.5%

The Irish Stock Exchange took another hammering today, as the ISEQ index fell well below the psychologically important 2,000 mark – losing 93.20 points to 1,981.12.

Bucking the usual trend for a day of losses, the financials all gained ground. Irish Life & Permanent led the way, climbing 9c to 72c, with Allied Irish Bank (which announced profits of around €1bn) not far behind, up 8c to 46c. Bank of Ireland inched up 1c to 20c.

Paddy Power, which announced a profit jump of 9% to almost €69m, enjoyed a 69c boost to €11.65.

That is where the good news ended however, as the rest of the Exchange saw some heavy losses.

Icon lost the most, down €1.17 to €15.08. CRH followed, plummeting €1 to €15.40.

In the food and drink sector, Kerry Group was the biggest faller, slumping 73c to €16.07. Glanbia endured a 16c loss to €1.84.

Elsewhere, some of the bigger losses included Elan (down 70c to €4.48), FBD (down 50c to €7.10), DCC (down 45c to €10.30) and Dragon Oil (down 12c to €1.52).