Dublin report:The Irish market bucked the international trend yesterday, managing to claw back some of the declines of the past two days amid a mixed performance from its constituents.
The Iseq ended the day up 38 points, ahead of where it finished 2006, but below the positive start it made to 2007 earlier this week.
Dealers said it was too early to see the impact of a Davy investor day being held in New York, although more activity may be seen on Monday, following presentations by executives from many of the Iseq's leading players.
Bank of Ireland was one of the strongest performers among the index's larger members yesterday, rising 22 cents, or 1.3 per cent, to close at €17.47. The other financials did not fare so well, however, with Anglo Irish Bank adding just 10 cents to end the day at €15.50, while AIB closed unchanged at €22.80.
Dealers reported renewed interest in Irish Life & Permanent, which rose 30 cents, or 1.4 per cent, to close at €21.40. On the whole, the main moves yesterday came from the smaller players, with Siteserv, a recent newcomer to Dublin's IEX, jumping 14.4 per cent. Dealers couldn't pinpoint any stock-specific news behind the move, which saw the shares end the day up 17 cents, at €1.35.
Moving in the other direction, another minnow, Getmobile, slumped by 13 per cent, or 3 cents, to close at 17 cents. Dealers reported a few sellers in Independent News & Media, which helped push the stock down 5 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to €3, while DCC also suffered, dropping 82 cents, or 3.2 per cent, to close at €25.
Elsewhere, shares in Blackrock failed to react to news that it had bought land near Dublin, with the stock ending the day unchanged at 53 cents.
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