No dramatic moves by Irish financials as market rises

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 3,364.48 (+55.35) Settlement date: September 21st:THE IRISH market edged ahead yesterday in step with its European peers.

There were no dramatic moves by the Irish financials, although this was, in part, because disruption in the Dáil delayed Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan in outlining the details of the proposed National Asset Management Agency.

AIB opened in positive territory before Nama nerves dragged it into the red. It fell over 4 per cent at one point before rallying slightly to end the day at €2.631, a loss of 6.4 cent or 2.4 per cent.

Bank of Ireland was calmer, adding close to nine cent, or 3.2 per cent, to finish on €2.86, while Irish Life Permanent dipped close to 2 per cent to €5.89.

Volumes, though healthy, were below the levels of recent days and traders expected the full fallout from the Nama announcement would not emerge until today, especially for Bank of Ireland, which will issue a trading statement.

Elsewhere, building materials group CRH, by far the largest constituent of the Iseq index, continued its recent upward trend, adding 75 cent, or almost 4 per cent, to close on €19.61. The airlines had a mixed day. Aer Lingus struggled despite news of a recent move into the market by another director, Leslie Buckley. It gave up 2.5 cent, or 3.3 per cent, to close on 73½ cent. Rival Ryanair fared somewhat better in reasonable volumes, adding two cent to €3.54.

Positive news on the exploration front helped Tullow advance by over 7 per cent to €13.39, a gain of 88½ cent.

Elan, which had gained ground on Tuesday, despite announcing that it would receive less money from Johnson Johnson in a deal that will see the US healthcare giant take an 18.4 per cent stake, gave up some of those gains yesterday. It ended the session 17 cent weaker on €5.26.