Buoyant day for financials gives Iseq a boost

Dublin Report: It was pretty buoyant in the Irish market yesterday, with positive performances from the financials helping to push the ISEQ ahead.

Bank of Ireland was the biggest gainer among the financials, adding 16 cent to end the day at €13.15, helped by positive sentiment in the banking sector around the world.

Anglo rose 15 cent, to close at €11.35, while Allied was up 14 cent at €17.74.

Elsewhere, Elan had a good day, adding 55 cent to close at €7.20. Dealers said buying interest in the stock had been boosted by a report in Forbes magazine that its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabari will return to the market.

Glanbia was also among the winners, rising 12 cent to end the day at €2.42. One dealer said the stock had seen good buying interest with a large order at €2.45 before falling back at the close.

Ryanair added 4 cent to end the day at €6.82 on good volume. Interest in the stock tends to pick up at this time of year as the company comes into the third quarter, one dealer said.

Shares in financial services group IFG rose 3 cent, closing at €1.35, with dealers expecting the stock to rise further after the results beat expectations. The company was positive about the outlook going forward.

Moving in the other direction, a decline in first-half profit left shares of homebuilder McInerney down 5 cent at €8.40. The company reported pretax profits of €11 million for the six months to the end of June, down from €16.6 million at the same time last year, a drop one trader described as disappointing.

Kingspan lost 13 cent, ending the day at €10.72, after Eugene Murtagh, the group's chairman, disposed of five million shares in the building components group. In a statement to the stock exchange, Kingspan said Mr Murtagh still holds 35 million shares in the company, equal to 20.8 per cent of the group's stock, and has no plans to dispose of any more.

Irish Life & Permanent slipped 5 cent to close at €14.95.Settlement Date: October 3rd