CRH the main focus in mixed day of trading

CRH was the main focus of activity yesterday with Capita Group buying 8

CRH was the main focus of activity yesterday with Capita Group buying 8.2 million shares to make up the shortfall caused by its miscounting of the applications for the building materials

group's rights issue. The buying was done in London at an average price of #18.25, slightly above the #18.12 close in London. The Dublin closing price was #17.80, a drop of 1.11 per cent. The sellers saw HSBC coming after the announcement on Monday that there had been a mix-up with the rights issue by Capita. The only question was whether they would buy all 8.2 million shares yesterday or spread it over a few days. As a result, CRH marginally outperformed the market in what was described as a very mixed day by Dublin traders.

Bear sentiment drove the market down by more than 2 per cent, mirroring slumps in London and New York. Traders in Dublin took some cheer from large deals in some stocks. Anglo Irish Bank bucked the trend and closed up 12 cents at #3.12. More than 1.5 million shares were traded. AIB and Bank of Ireland both fell, with AIB slipping 2.19 per cent to #11.15 and Bank of Ireland dropping 4.38 per cent to #9.18. Although it was one-way traffic with most stocks, dealers reported good two-way interest in Independent News & Media. It closed down 13 cents at #2.50 with around one million shares trading. There was also a big trade in Waterford Wedgwood, with 4.2 million shares changing hands, according to market sources. The giftware group closed up two cents at #1.12. Smurfit dropped four cents to #1.91.

John McManus

John McManus

John McManus is a columnist and Duty Editor with The Irish Times