DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,052.86 (+18.42) Settlement date: March 2ndTHE IRISH stock market enjoyed a relatively good day yesterday, considering that it had plunged to 14-year lows in recent sessions.
The Iseq index of Irish shares closed up almost 1 per cent at 2,052.86.
It traded at higher levels in the morning but the US market came off pretty sharply after opening in the afternoon, dragging markets on this side of the Atlantic down with it.
CRH performed strongly, touching €16.76 at one point. It had slipped back to €16.07 by the end of the session, but was still up more than 3 per cent on the day.
In the financial sector, AIB closing down almost 4 per cent at €0.50, while Bank of Ireland closed more or less flat at €0.28.
Irish Life Permanent, meanwhile, had an erratic day.
It gained some ground in the morning and traded as high as €0.82, but it came off heavily in the afternoon as sellers came into the market and finished at €0.65, down more 7 per cent.
Drug company Elan announced yesterday that it was to cut 230 jobs from its global workforce, including 115 jobs in Ireland, as part of an effort to “manage its overall cost base”.
According to one trader, market reaction to this news was “muted enough”.
The drug company closed down 2.59 per cent at €4.85, but this was thought to be mainly due to the impact of the weak market in the US.
Elsewhere, Grafton Group – which is due to release results tomorrow – marked up almost 5 per cent to almost €1.32 on strong volume, while Kingspan gained more than 3 per cent and closed at just over €2.10.
There was reasonable volume in cider manufacturer CC, which traded up to €1. It lost ground, though, and closed at €0.97, but was still up 2.11 per cent on the day.
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