O'Reilly buys two million shares as Iseq sustains rally

Market Report:THE IRISH stock exchange extended the gains made in the previous few day's trading although volumes were modest yesterday.

As stocks rallied, the Iseq closed more than 2 per cent - or 141.92 points - stronger at 6,553.38.

The scramble for shares at Independent News & Media continued with Sir Anthony O'Reilly snapping up another two million shares at €2.155. It now brings his shareholding in the company to 26.99 per cent. Overall, around six million shares were traded pushing the stock up more than 1 per cent to €2.145.

Elsewhere, in a day with little company-specific news, the principle gainers were among the industrials, with Smurfit posting a solid performance while volumes were light with around 700,000 shares changing hands. Grafton also performed solidly, helped by ongoing speculation about a possible bid for the company. It tacked 17 cent on to its share price to close the day at €6.27 with around 1.96 million shares traded.

Kerry enjoyed a resurgence, gaining 55 cent to €19.90. Other stocks enjoying good gains on the day were CRH which advanced €1.10 to $25.50, while Kingspan was 43 cent stronger at $9.20.

Banks again put in a credible performance, although Anglo Irish Bank was subject to some profit-taking later in the day. Given that the bank's stock has risen by more than 50 per cent from its St Patrick's Day low, this was understandable, according to one broker. Nevertheless, it still managed to close marginally up as it added six cent to close at €9.35.

IL&P was the star performer as it advanced 3.5 per cent to end the day at €13.31. AIB added 30 cent to its price to finish at €14.47 while Bank of Ireland finished 15 cent up at €9.35. Waterford Wedgwood slipped slightly following news of the immediate departure of chief executive Peter Cameron.

Iseq: 6,553.38 (+141.92) Settlement Date: April 7th