Although the Irish stock market was technically open for business today, according to one of the few Dublin traders working, it was “effectively closed” due to the fact that markets in the US and UK were shut for bank holidays.
As a result the Iseq index of Irish shares was virtually unchanged on the day, and liquidity was predictably thin.
Although the market as a whole was more or less flat, and volumes light, there were some small movements amongst individual stocks. Within the financial sector, AIB drifted lower by 3 cent to settle at €1.30, but Bank of Ireland gained 4 cent, bringing it to €1.50. FBD Holdings was one of the stronger performers of the day, adding 26 cent to close at €7.19.
Although it came close to breaking through the €18.00 mark at one point during today's session, the index's key determinant, cement giant CRH, slipped a little lower over the course of the day, and finished down 16 cent at €17.71.
Bakery group Aryzta bucked the lethargic trend today, gaining more than €1 and closing at a daily high of €22.95. Cider manufacturer C&C also enjoyed a positive day's trading, and closed at €2.25, a gain of 7 cent.
National benchmark indexes rose in 10 of the 17 western European markets that were open today. France's CAC 40 added 0.3 per cent, while Germany's DAX slipped less than 0.1 per cent.
(Additional reporting: Bloomberg)
