ISEQ down almost 2%

The ISEQ index of Irish shares closed down 55.76 points to 2,891.03 this evening, a fall of 1.89%.

Among the fallers, Paddy Power shed 46c to €26.90; CRH slipped 41c to €16.05; FBD fell 22c to €6.25; Smurfit Kappa shed 16c to €7.31; Elan Corp slipped 13c to €3.94 and Grafton Group also finished off 13c at €2.89.

Banking stocks were mixed, with AIB down 5c to €0.85 and Bank of Ireland slipping 3c to €0.71, but Irish Life & Permanent adding 4c to €1.57.