C&C shares up 30 cent as ISEQ continues to rise

Dublin Report: The Irish stock market continued in the same vein as it ended 2005, moving upwards, helped by strong demand for several of its leading members. Volumes were good across the board as dealers reported healthy activity in many stocks, boosted by general positive sentiment about the Irish market.

Activity was also boosted by trading in advance of an investor conference in New York later this week, dealers said.

Drinks and snacks maker C&C was the day's biggest mover, despite any stock-specific news.

The shares jumped 30 cent, equal to 5.5 per cent of the stock's value, to end the day at €5.80, with more than eight million shares changing hands in Dublin alone. This compares with the normal trading volumes of about two million. A further 1.4 million shares traded in London.

Dealers said investors were upbeat about AC Nielson data due out next week, which many expect to show a continuing increase in demand for the group's Magners cider in the UK.

CRH also had a good day, continuing the gains it made on Tuesday, closing up 20 cent, at €25.50. The building materials group issued an upbeat trading statement, saying it expected to report pretax profits of more than €1.25 billion for 2005, compared with €1.1 billion in 2004. The group also revealed it spent €1.2 billion on acquisitions in the second half of last year.

Another gainer was Grafton, which is benefiting from positive sentiment in the building sector ahead of an expected trading update from UK rival Travis Perkins. The shares added 15 cent, to close at €9.55.

The financials also performed well with the exception of Irish Life & Permanent, which again bucked the trend losing 23 cent, to end the day at €16.80.

Dealers said the decline was surprising and did not reflect anything fundamental going on at the company.

Bank of Ireland was up 24 cent, at €13.82, while Anglo Irish Bank rose 15 cent, to €12.97. AIB fared less well, adding only two cent, to close at €18.32.