Shares weather Draghi’s warning
IRISH shares ended largely unchanged yesterday amid warnings from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi that Ireland could face ramifications if it broke rules in the promissory note deal.
By the close in Dublin, the ISEQ Overall Index rose by just 0.06pc, or 2.28 points to close the session at 3665.85.
The Dublin market dipped after opening before recovering in the afternoon to push the index into the black.
Mr Draghi was addressing the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee of the European Parliament where he said legal remedies would apply if the promissory note deal did not comply with EU rules.
The euro also fell against the dollar after he suggested further weakness in the eurozone.
The main leaders in the Dublin market included Irish recruitment firm CPL Resources which was up 4.7pc to end the session at €4.45.
Independent News & Media was up 5.6pc to €0.03 amid the announcement it had agreed a €170m deal to sell its South African media business to a consortium led by a local investor.
Oil exploration company Providence was up 3.3pc to close the day at €7.07, while FBD added 1.6pc to end at €12.50.
The laggards included insulation maker Kingspan, which was down 2.6pc to €8.86, and shipping and transport group Irish Continental, which dipped 0.5pc to €19.80.
Mining company Kenmare Resources also took a hit yesterday, with its share price falling 1.7pc to close the day at €0.42.
Estimates
Elsewhere, European stocks retreated for a third day amid Mr Draghi's comments and as companies including Carlsberg missed earnings estimates.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.2pc to 286.76 at the close of trading, its third day of losses and longest losing streak in a month. US markets were closed for President's Day.
National benchmark index fell in 14 of the 18 western-European markets. France's CAC 40 added 0.2pc, while the UK's FTSE 100 slipped 0.2pc. Germany's DAX gained 0.5pc.
“Earnings disappointments aren't too much of a surprise given the weakness in the local economies, but they should stabilise later in the year,” said Norman Villamin, European chief investment officer at Coutts & Co in Zurich.
“Sentiment on global equity markets is still quite bullish, which is the primary concern right now, as everyone is on the same side of the trade. The strength of the euro against the pound and the yen brings a headwind to euro-area growth.”
Carlsberg slid the most since May. Telecommunications company Telefonica retreated to its lowest price since August after saying its results were hurt by a pretax loss of €438m from a foreign-currency position.
Corporate and investment bank Natixis surged the most since August 2009 amid plans to make a €2bn exceptional payment to shareholders.