The Dublin market closed down more than a per cent lower today in line with the European trend which saw European markets end the session in the red, reversing a six-day rally. The Dublin index was brought down by a 2 per cent fall by index heavyweight CRH, which closed at €16.15, as data from the US continued to disappoint.
Ryanair, the second largest constituent on the exchange, was off 1.1 per cent today, as the markets reacted to the news late yesterday that chief executive Michael O’Leary had sold 5 million shares. However, analysts that the market reaction was muted - the fact that the chief executive has sold shares during the summer in most of the previous years, meant that there was less significance to the sale according to one analyst. More significant for the airline’s share price was a 7 per cent slide by rival and sector peer Easyjet. This was more likely to have led to the fall in the share price which saw Ryanair finish the day at €3.79.
The two main banks, Bank of Ireland and AIB, gave up some of the recent gains enjoyed this week on the back of a positive response by the market to the results of the European stress tests. Both stocks finished the day in the red, despite a recent rally in Irish government bonds.
Bank of Ireland continued to be the most traded stock, although volumes were slightly down on previous days. It finished 1.5 per cent lower at €0.83. AIB shed 1.1 per cent to €0.94, despite its Polish bank, BZWBK, reporting interim results this morning which were in line with expectations.
Irish Life and Permanent was the star performer among the financials gaining 6.2 per cent to €1.74.
Aryzta reversed the losses of the previous session to finish up 1 per cent or 33 cent at €30.82, after peer company Panera Bread reported a year-on-year increase in earnings per share of 31 per cent.
