IRISH SHARES fell slightly yesterday as the "buyers' strike" continued, leading to share-price volatility due to small trading volumes.
The Iseq closed down 0.6 per cent at 2,710, as financial stocks endured a mixed day of trading.
Irish Life & Permanent fell sharply, closing down 12.6 per cent at €3.10 after the company said it had an exposure to debt issued by Icelandic banks that have been taken into state ownership due to the credit freeze and the collapse o the country's currency.
Bank of Ireland fell 3 per cent to €1.60, while Anglo Irish Bank remained unchanged at €1.80.
Independent News & Media dropped 8.3 per cent to 55 cent as investors grew concerned about falling advertising revenues, currency fluctuations and fears over the company's refinancing obligations over the coming two years.
ICG rose 3.9 per cent to €16 on speculation that there may be a fresh bid for the company.
European shares closed slightly lower in choppy trading as losses in banks and motor stocks eclipsed gains in oil and defensive shares.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares ended 0.1 per cent lower at 872.72 points, having fallen as low as 845.75 earlier.
Banks were among the highest fallers. Credit Suisse dropped nearly 4.2 per cent after the group made a 1.7 billion Swiss franc trading loss in the third quarter and warned that the fourth quarter would be tough.
The group's peers, Banco Santander, Standard Chartered and UBS were between 2.5 per cent and 4.8 per cent lower.
The DJ Stoxx European banking index was down 4.2 per cent at 199.7 points, after falling to 194.2, its lowest level since 1997.
In the car sector, Daimler fell 1.3 per cent as it lowered its full-year revenue and profit forecast after third-quarter operating profit plunged by two-thirds.
"The market did not like the Daimler results. Daimler is very exposed to the high-end market, which is falling off a cliff in the US. It is a reiteration of just how grim the economic backdrop is at the moment," said Philip Lawlor, a strategist at Nomura.
Fiat shed 0.5 per cent. The Italian car maker's chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, told analysts at a conference call that market declines were in excess of the group's expectations.
Industrial engineering groups came under pressure as Swiss company ABB slumped 18.45 per cent after reporting weaker-than-expected net profit and third-quarter orders as customers hesitated about investing in infrastructure.
French engineering firm Alstom ended down almost 10.5 per cent. Spanish wind turbine maker Gamesa fell 5.8 per cent as investors fretted about its business outlook and decision to temporarily halt some production.
Mining stocks also contributed to big losses in Europe as copper earlier touched a low of $3,820 per tonne, its lowest since October 2005.
Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Xstrata and Anglo American were down between 2.75 per cent and 9 per cent.
Across Europe, the FTSE 100 index was up 1.2 per cent, Germany's DAX was down 1.1 per cent and France's CAC 40 was 0.4 per cent higher.
Oil giants were the major gainers in Europe as the crude price gained 2.7 per cent ahead of an Opec meeting today and investors went bargain hunting.
BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were up between 1.5 per cent and 5.6 per cent. Investors also sought out the safety of defensive stocks with food producer Nestlé near the top of the leader board, up 3.35 per cent after nine-month sales beat forecasts. Unilever, Danone and Cadbury were 1 per cent to 3.7 per cent higher.
Pharmaceutical group Sanofi-Aventis was up 0.6 per cent, despite the European authorities' request to temporarily suspend the marketing authorisation of obesity drug Acomplia.
