Markets were overshadowed by uncertainty over the fate of Greece and its membership of the euro ahead of a key referendum on its bailout next Sunday.
With US exchanges for the Independence Day holiday, trading was downbeat in Europe.
Dublin: Traders said business was quiet throughout the day as investors marked down European assets going into a weekend dominated by the Greek vote. The Iseq close 12.2 point or 0.2 per cent weaker at 6,233.59 points.
“Volumes were very thin on a lot of things. There’s not a whole lot of stand-out activity,” said one Dublin trader
Still, Dalata hotel group saw its stock rise 4 per cent to €3.90.
The trader said such an increase probably reflected sectoral confidence but he pointed out that most of the volume of trading was at a lower level than the closing price.
Albeit on low volumes, Smurfit Kappa gained 2.2 per cent to finish the day at €25.76½. Again on low volumes, CRH eased 0.31 per cent to €25.50.
Very thin trading in Bank of Ireland saw the stock finished unchanged at 36 cent.
London: Britain’s blue-chip share index marked its biggest weekly drop in a month on Friday, with miners slipping on a slowdown in China and banks falling after Brazil said it was investigating some global lenders’ currency market activity.
The index fell broadly in line with shares across Europe before a Greek referendum on Sunday on its debt terms that may decide the country’s future in Europe.
The FTSE 100 closed 0.7 percent lower at 6,585.78 points and hardly moved on data showing Britain’s services sector grew more than expected last month.
The index has fallen more than 2 percent so far this week, marking its worst weekly percentage fall since early June on concerns about Greece’s debt crisis.
The banking index fell 1.2 percent on news that Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Standard Chartered were among those under investigation on suspicion of rigging the Brazilian real.
Royal Bank of Scotland fell 1.9 percent, also hit by news the bank may need to pay $13 billion to settle claims that it misled investors in mortgage-backed securities, according to documents filed in a US court.
The UK mining index fell 1.2 percent after a survey showing services sector activity in China, the world’s top metals consumer, slowed to its lowest in five months in June. Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Anglo American all dropped about 1 to 1.9 percent. A further sharp sell-off in Chinese stocks also weighed on sentiment.
Europe: European stocks fell for a second day and German bonds gained as Greece called for a writedown on its debt and investors braced for a referendum this weekend.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index decreased 0.5 percent at the close of trading, while the yield on Germany’s 10-year bund dropped five basis points to 0.79 percent.
Standard and Poor’s 500 Index E-mini contracts expiring in September dropped 0.1 percent at lunchtime in New York as U.S. markets were shut for a holiday. Humana jumped in Germany as Aetna agreed to buy the company
Stocks extended declines in a week where more than $1.5 trillion was erased from the value of global equities after Greek premier Alexis Tsipras short-circuited bailout talks by calling a referendum.
“Investors clearly want to sell what they can before the weekend,” said Ramiro Loureiro, a Lisbon-based market analyst at Banco Comercial Portugues Millennium unit.
“The small difference between the Yes and the No vote in Greece has generated so much uncertainty that, when you throw in thin trading volumes, you’re bound to get more marked losses near the close of trading.”
