C&C shares regain some of their fizz

Dublin report:  It was a relatively flat day for the market yesterday, with the Iseq index of Irish shares gaining 0.22 per cent, but fans of drinks group C&C will have been pleased to see the stock recover some of its fizz after a slump in its share price the previous day.

Market share data from research group AC Nielsen published yesterday wasn't as bad as some had feared following Merrion Stockbrokers' downgrading of the stock.

Buyers got into the stock at the €11.30 level and the shares rallied, climbing 33 cent to finish at €12.20, a rise of almost 3 per cent. It still has some way to go to recover Thursday's 10.8 per cent drop in its share price.

Elsewhere, there was decent volume in Ryanair, which is likely to benefit from lower oil prices. NCB Stockbrokers yesterday raised its 12-month price target to €14 per share. It had a volatile day, trading as high as €11.49 but eventually finished off slightly, down 7 cent to close at €11.25.

Elsewhere, a lot of the activity occurred among Fyffes and its various entities on the IEX. The company's share price itself rose 4 cent to €1.14, up 3.64 per cent on the day.

But the real action occurred in property group Blackrock, in which Fyffes has a 40 per cent stake. It rose 7.69 per cent to 56 cent amid rumours of a bid for the company, with several blocks of stock purchased in the mid-fifties.

Total Produce, the Fyffes entity that announced a €23 million transaction to acquire Redbridge Holdings yesterday, also had a good day on the market, climbing 5.63 per cent to close at 75 cent and trading as high as 80 cent on the day.

Elsewhere, Independent News & Media dropped 1 per cent to €2.93 following some short selling in the stock.