Good showing from CRH and banks helps index advance

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,948.45 (+48.76) Settlement date: July 16thTHE IRISH market had a good day yesterday as a strong performance from leading stock CRH and the banks helped lift the overall index.

CRH, which accounts for about one-third of the Iseq index of Irish shares, rose over 5 per cent to close at €16.67. Dealers said the stock had traded at about €16.50 for most of the day before spiking markedly towards the close of business.

They added that there was no particular reason for the interest, although many investors may have felt that the stock had been over sold in recent days.

The overall market benefited from a generally strong performance across European markets, driven by good news from Alcoa and a positive response to Greece’s debt sale.

DIY and builders’ merchant Grafton issued a trading update saying profits grew strongly in the second quarter on the back of a good performance from its British merchanting business. However, investors failed to bite, and the stock shed almost 2 per cent to close at €3.001.

Dealers said the update was broadly in line with expectations, and that investors may have been hoping for slightly better news.

The banks also performed well. AIB added 3.4 per cent to close at 94 cents on what dealers described as good volumes. Bank of Ireland added 1.9 per cent to close at 74.4 cents, although it was up by almost 5 per cent earlier in the day. More than 43 million of the bank’s shares changed hands yesterday.

Irish Life & Permanent again failed to emulate its peers, dropping 3.3 per cent to close at €1.508. Investors sold about 1.5 million of its shares yesterday.

Elsewhere, Aer Lingus added 3.85 per cent to close at 81 cents, while its biggest shareholder and main rival in the Irish market, Ryanair, gained 0.31 per cent to close at €3.922.