THE Dublin market pushed ahead to break through £18 billion capitalisation once again, with most of the attention on the industrial shares. Dealers said volumes were low and that the market is likely to take its cue from overseas markets if it is to push ahead much further.
News was thin on the ground, but the £6.75 million placing by Fitzwilton was well received and the share moved ahead 2p to 56p.
Among the leaders, fortunes were mixed. CRH was the best of the leaders, trading up 7p to 592, matching its previous all-time high. Smurfit was up 2p as JS Corp firmed slightly in New York while among the financials, Bank of Ireland was unchanged on 460p while AIB eased 1p to 331p.
Second-liners were generally firmer although current market favourite Adare once again suffered from profit-taking, falling 12 1/2p to 515p. James Crean moved 7p higher - mainly on hopes that Crean will not hang around when it comes to selling surplus assets. DCC also gained 7p to 240p although Fyffes and Greencore were both 3p weaker on 109p and 309p respectively.
Gilts moved higher in afternoon trading, maintaining their differential against British government stocks, although dealers said that activity in Dublin was "subdued". The British market moved ahead after weaker-than-expected retail sales indicated a slowdown.
The Irish market has had an extraordinary run in recent weeks with a flood of overseas money driving down yields and widening the differential against other bonds. Some dealers believe that the market is unlikely to move ahead much further with some investors undoubtedly tempted to take profits.
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