Strong performance by financials boosts market

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq:2817.89 (+17.92) Settlement date:December 13th

TUESDAY’S BUDGET had minimal impact on the equity market yesterday according to brokers, as most of the changes had been flagged ahead of the announcement. Volumes were light in Dublin, though a strong performance by financial stocks boosted the market.

AIB was the best performer among the financials. It climbed throughout the day to reach the 50 cent level at close, a gain of 11 per cent. Bank of Ireland added 4.5 per cent, after it announced details of a plan to buy-back some of its tier two debt, a move that will reduce its equity needs. Irish Life Permanent also advanced, gaining 3.3 per cent to close at €1.20. Brokers were at a loss to explain the rally, but said that a knock-on effect from the Budget was most likely behind the lift.

Elsewhere, some specific stocks benefited from budgetary changes. Paddy Power gained just under a half a per cent to finish at €24.80, following the decision to extend the betting tax to non-retail transactions.

The decision to reduce the travel tax had some impact on airline stocks, but volumes were light on both Ryanair and Aer Lingus. Ryanair added close to 1 per cent to finish at €3.85, but Aer Lingus shed 1 per cent, finishing at €1.09, reflecting a general weakness in airline stocks of late.

There were a lot of sellers around in Glanbia which resulted in the food and ingredients stock shedding 4.4 per cent to close at €3.23. Convenience food business Greencore saw some volume following the announcement of its acquisition of a small US bakery on Tuesday, but it ended the day in negative territory, losing close to 0.4 per cent to €1.39.

Elsewhere, index-bellweather CRH had a volatile day, reflecting concerns about the status of State-funded projects. The construction stock closed down just under 0.4 per cent at €14.97.