Iseq follows global market trends, rising almost 3%

Iseq: 2,466.35 (+70.62) Settlement date: August 12thAFTER HITTING a 2011 low on Monday amid a major sell-off of stocks, the Iseq succeeded in regaining some ground yesterday, closing up almost 3 per cent.

Macro events rather than stock-specific news continued to shape the direction of the market, with the Iseq tracking global market trends. Having started the day lower on the back of unsettled US markets overnight, the market did manage to stabilise by mid-morning, and all the main bourses, including Dublin, finished higher.

Nonetheless trading was marked by volatility with big swings characterising the market.

In Dublin, many of the stocks that had been hugely oversold on Monday regained ground. Stocks like Grafton, Elan and CRH all made strong advances, with CRH closing up 4.5 per cent at €12.46 and Elan adding 10 per cent to finish at €6.83.

Ryanair underperformed relative to the other large stocks on the Iseq, losing 1.35 per cent to close at €2.92, as the market digested the company’s share buy-back strategy which commenced last week.

Packaging company Smurfit Kappa added 7.8 per cent to finish at €5.18, ahead of results this morning. Traders noted good volume in Kerry Group, although the stock lost 0.5 per cent to close at €24.55.

Greencore finished at €0.63, a drop of 25 per cent, a move that was not unexpected as the market began trading the company’s new nil paid shares ahead of the acquisition with Uniq.

Bond markets continued to stabilise with yields on Spanish and Italian sovereign bonds falling, as the ECB pursued its bond-buying strategy.

Overall, analysts noted that all eyes this morning will be on market reaction to the outcome of the Federal Reserve meeting, which took place after European markets closed last night.