DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 3,066.61 (+28.40) Settlement date: September 10th: THE DUBLIN market started the week on a quiet note, mainly due to the fact that US markets were closed for Labor Day.
Despite the intense speculation relating to Nama over the weekend, banking stocks had a pretty slow day. Volumes in the two main banks were low compared to recent sessions. Allied Irish Bank (AIB) was more or less unchanged at just under €2.42 while Bank of Ireland was down less than two cent at €2.36.
Drinks manufacturer CC was one of the most actively traded stocks on the day. The stock climbed 5 per cent – or 13 cent – to €2.73 on the back of a positive note issued by Citibank in London yesterday.
Since the announcement of CC’s takeover of Scottish lager brand Tennents, the company has been “chatting to the market”, making representations to some of its leading shareholders one trader explained, and several brokers have issued positive notes.
“There are one or two decent buyers knocking around,” he observed. “Investors like what they hearing.”
The food and beverage sector in general was strong on the day. There was good demand for Kerry Group, which gained almost 4 per cent, or 71 cent, to €19.30.
Aryzta traded up as high as €26.05 at one point in the session but slipped back somewhat towards the close to finish at €25.89, still a gain on the day of 1.5 per cent on the day.
Elsewhere, former State carrier Aer Lingus added almost 7 per cent – or 3.5 cent – to 56 cent, after it announced yesterday that its passenger numbers increased 7.7 per cent in August compared to the same month last year.
The two biggest stocks in the Iseq index, CRH and Ryanair, gained 8 cent and 5 cent respectively and helped to push the overall index up about 1 per cent to 3,066.61.
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