DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,866.60 (-14.62) Settlement date: August 13th: TRADING LEVELS on the Irish market were anaemic yesterday, due partly to a dearth of stock-specific news over the weekend.
Greencore, in which beleaguered property developer Liam Carroll has a large stake, proved to be the winner on the day, trading up by more than 5 per cent to €1.25 in advance of Mr Carroll’s Supreme Court appeal hearing scheduled to take place today.
Elsewhere, packaging group Smurfit Kappa, which is due to release interim results tomorrow, gained almost 1 per cent – or four cent – to close at €4.24.
Bookmaker Paddy Power also enjoyed a positive day’s trading, lifted by a strong set of results issued by the Swedish-controlled betting company Unibet. Paddy Power closed up almost 3 per cent – or 50 cent – to €17.50.
Ryanair was one of the weaker stocks on the day, slipping almost 2 per cent – or six cent – to €3.15, as the aviation sector in general continues to feel the pressure of depressed consumer sentiment.
Cement giant CRH, the largest component of the Iseq index of Irish shares, slipped a little, closing down 11 cent at €17.29.
Among the minnow stocks, CPL Resources put in a strong performance. The Dublin-based recruitment firm rose 3.45 per cent – six cent – to €1.80, despite the fact that a trading update from international recruitment company Harvey Nash indicated no real improvement in the state of recruitment markets.
There were no major price changes in the financial stocks. Allied Irish Banks marked up one cent to €2.13, while Bank of Ireland was off a little over four cent at just below €2.06.
Insurer FBD fared better on the day, climbing almost 4 per cent – 27 cent – to €7.37.
Overall, the Iseq index fell half a percent to 2,866.60, which was in line with the movement of European shares on the day.
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