Dublin market busy ahead of Easter holiday

Dublin Report: The Dublin market was surprisingly busy ahead of the Easter weekend.

A lot of the activity came from traders closing off positions on behalf of clients, but volumes were relatively strong considering the holiday exodus.

The market ended up 26.62 points at 6,130.34 and traders said most of the upswing was accounted for by the leading stocks like AIB (up 20 cent at €16.15), Bank of Ireland (up 18 cent on €12.40) and Elan (up 22 cent or 4 per cent to €5.71).

The overall economic picture was still mixed, traders said, with interest-rate concerns still occupying minds in London and New York.

The price of oil, while easing somewhat, has not fallen enough to give comfort to the markets.

Elan's recent slump may have finally bottomed out, but the market was still split over its future prospects.

"People are creeping back in there. There is a sense that the Tysabri setback may be surmountable. But the stock will probably need some fresh news flow to really drive it on," one trader commented.

AIB traded in good volumes with the sector attracting interest for most of the week. B of I's cost-cutting plans was receiving mixed reactions in the market. Irish institutions had tended to be critical of the bank, said one trader, whereas it had strong institutional support from overseas.

"The bank has the money to make sure its plans work out, so there not many people worrying about it right now," said one trader.

Paddy Power suffered a little on the day, falling 19 cent to €13.90. Most of this was attributed to profit-taking in a share that has been performing well.

At the start of the year the stock was hovering around the €11 mark, but it has picked up since then.

Traders said the company emerged relatively intact from Cheltenham. "Their books just about balanced out is the general impression," said one.