Ryanair led the charge on a strong day for most of the Dublin market and there is a belief in some quarters that if Bank of Ireland half-year figures tomorrow produce no unpleasant surprises then the market may be set for a run and recover some of the ground lost in what has been an abysmal 1999.
Ryanair's second quarter results were well ahead of forecasts and will lead to upgrades to full-year forecasts. This led to strong demand for the shares which closed up €1.00 on €8.75 (£6.89) while NASDAQ trading saw the shares trading over $3 higher on $46 as the Irish market closed.
Leading industrials, however, had a weak day with Eircom down six cents on €3.89 (£3.06) ahead of half-year results while CRH continues to go through a sticky patch and lost another 10 cents to €17.45 (£13.74). Financials were marginally firmer with AIB up 19 cents on €12.33 (£9.71) although Bank of Ireland lost four cents to €7.86 (£6.19) while Irish Life was unchanged on 10.00.
Among second-liners, Grafton jumped 70 cents to €22.20 (£17.48), Jurys lost 30 cents to €7.70 (£6.06) while ITG was 32 cents higher on €7.47 (£5.88) after launching a huge placing and one for three open offer at €6.56 (£5.17) a share.
Irish stocks had a bumper day on the New York markets. Trintech soared over 30 per cent in early trading to a high $32.50 before profit-taking brought the share back to $28.25 at the Irish close, still a rise of $3.29 on the day. The pattern was similar on the Neuer Markt where Trintech hit a high of €33.49 before closing up €2.49 on €26.49. Sources close to the company attributed the huge demand for the stock to a recovery in the group's key German market, a recent link-up with Unisys and good figures from some of Trintech's main competitors. There are no corporate developments behind the rise, the sources said.
Elsewhere on NASDAQ, Baltimore was trading $1.29 higher at the Dublin close on $36, Iona was 81 cents higher on $26, Esat was $1.29 stronger on $51.87 after its bumper third quarter results while Elan was 69 cents firmer on $24.71.
