Iseq: 2,676.18 (+19.10)

THERE WAS only one story across Dublin trading floors yesterday, as the Minister for Finance finally unveiled the figure for the final cost of the bank bailout and surprised analysts with the announcement of a further State capital injection in AIB and the departure of the company’s senior management.

The announcement regarding AIB sent the bank’s share price plummeting in early morning trade, with the stock hitting as low as 37 cent, a drop of 28 per cent, before recovering somewhat during the day to finish 8 per cent lower at 50.7 cent, although traders noted that it would take a couple of days for the market to respond in earnest to the details of the plan, and the implications for current shareholders of the forthcoming rights issue.

Bank of Ireland retained the dubious honour of being the only Nama bank not in majority State ownership, and advanced 8.8 per cent to close at €0.62.

While both the main banking stocks saw plenty of investor activity, Bank of Ireland was again the most traded stock, with close to 100 million shares traded in Dublin and London yesterday.

Overall the Dublin market gained 19 points to close at 2,676, a gain of 0.7 per cent, as the market responded positively to the announcement by the Government of the final cost of the bank bailout.

Ryanair was a strong performer, with the markets buoyed by the airline’s investor update which took place in the UK on Wednesday.

The stock was trading at levels seen before the recent dividend payment, hitting highs of more than €3.95 at one stage, before falling back slightly to close at €3.92, a gain of 1.5 per cent.

Elsewhere, the Iseq’s other main constituent, CRH, saw strong volumes but shed 0.7 per cent, to finish at €12.04.

Settlement date: October 5th