Financials benefit from growth in buying interest and trade

The Dublin market was buoyant yesterday with the financials driving the ISEQ forward to 5445 points. The strong performance reflected international patterns, with new records reached in London and Frankfurt.

Dealers said trading was substantial and there was a noticeable increase in buying interest compared to last week. AIB was described as particularly strong, rising from £11.24 to £11.32p, in lower than usual volumes.

While Bank of Ireland ended the day unchanged at £15.17, traders described interest in the stock as very high and said many overseas investors were buying shares. "There does not seem to be any reduction of interest in the leading financials," said a trader. Also benefitting from the rush for financial shares was Irish Permanent, up from 975p to 980p and Irish Life, which put on 6p to 695p. Also strong on the day was CRH, rising from £10.40 to £10.47, in average volumes. "The stock has been strong for weeks now and there still seems to be further growth there," said a dealer.

The market was less confident about the Smurfit share price, which showed a small 1.5p slip to 195p. This represented a recovery as the stock had been down at 193p after lunchtime. Traders said negative industry news in some of the company's main areas of operation is the primary reason for the price weakness. Considering this, they said, JS Corp's second quarter results will probably fail to have much impact, even if they are good.

The market was also paying closer attention than usual to the NASDAQ-listed stocks, with IONA announcing its results overnight. "Investors will be watching closely how the share price does in New York and reacting accordingly," said a trader.

Green Property was one of the day's big losers, falling from 505p to 483p, despite finally getting control of Trafford Park Estates last week. Elan Corporation, also made its forceful contribution to the overall ISEQ increase, rising from £53.60 to £54.00, with New York going in the same direction.

The other main movers on the day were FBD Holdings, a normally sleepy stock, which saw 25p come off their share price to close at 500p. Heiton Holdings moved up 5p to 230p, Hibernian Group was 40p to the good at 770p, while Jurys was down 10p at 635p.