Hi °C | Lo °C IRISH shares fell yesterday in line with some of the major stocks across Europe, although the UK's FTSE 100 bucked the trend.
By the close in Dublin, the ISEQ Overall Index dropped 0.21pc, or 7.64 points, to close the session at 3681.45.
The Dublin index rose on opening before declining mid- morning through to its close.
The laggards included state-owned Permanent TSB, which was down 2.8pc to €0.04 on the back of the announcement that it was being downgraded by credit ratings agency Moodys. Speciality baker Aryzta also declined, losing 1.8pc to close at €42.69 after it announced it agreed to buy German company Klemme for €280m.
The sale may end up pushing the benefits of the speciality baker's transformation plans down the road.
Bookmakers Paddy Power fell for a second day losing 1.2pc to finish at €65.45, while insulation group Kingspan lost 1.7pc to close at €8.85.
On the other side of the board, Irish drugs company Elan rose 1.1pc to €7.66, while packaging giant Smurfit Kappa rose 0.33pc to close at €11.63.
Oil exploration company Providence was up 3pc to €7.34, while drinks group C&C edged fractionally higher by 0.1pc to finish up at €4.90.
Elsewhere, European stocks retreated from a three-week high as commodity producers declined and companies from Deutsche Lufthansa to RSA Insurance cut their payouts to shareholders.
The Stoxx 600 declined 0.3pc at the close of trading.
National benchmark indexes gained in 10 of the 18 western- European markets.
Germany's DAX declined 0.3pc, while France's CAC 40 slid 0.7pc. The UK's FTSE 100 climbed 0.3pc. On the currency front, sterling fell to its lowest level in nearly 16 months to 87p against the euro.
The pound's trade-weighted index dropped to 79.3, its lowest since late October 2011 as the UK currency hovered just above a seven-month low against the dollar and a near 16-month low against the euro.
"We have to keep in mind that political risks are mounting in Europe as well as in the US," said Witold Bahrke, senior strategist at PFA Pension in Copenhagen.
"On the one hand, central banks are forcing investors into equities. On the other hand the rally is maturing and risk appetite is getting stretched."
Resources company BHP Billiton contributed the most to the Stoxx Europe 600 Index's slide.
Lufthansa posted its biggest drop in 15 months after saying it will suspend its dividend for the first time since 2010 to preserve cash.
RSA Insurance tumbled the most in almost nine years after announcing a dividend cut, while French industrial company Lafarge jumped the most in five months after the world's largest cement maker said sales increased in Asia and Latin America.
Irish Independent
