ICG issues positive news amid subdued trading

Market Report: Building materials giant CRH and shipping company Irish Continental Group (ICG) dominated the news on a quiet day during which the Iseq Index of Irish Shares lost 24.53 points to close at 7,900.47.

Trading remained subdued yesterday, dealers said, with only two items of corporate news providing interest to investors.

ICG issued a statement at its agm saying that trade in the first quarter of the year was in line with expectations. The company also said that its restructuring was going according to plan.

Its share price dipped 45 cent to close at €11.05. Dealers said the markets expected a broadly positive statement but added that oil prices would be a big issue.

CRH said that it enjoyed a good first quarter this year, largely on the back of its American business. However, investors had been buying the stock in anticipation of positive news, and the subsequent profit-taking saw it dip slightly.

It shed 58 cent to end the day at €28.72 on volumes of more than 600,000 units.

Low-fares airline Ryanair gained a bit of altitude after one of its competitors, EasyJet, said that its £40 million sterling losses were below the number it expected, and the company increased its earnings estimates for the full year.

Ryanair gained 19 cent to close at €6.70, with close to 5.5 million shares changing hands during the course of the day.

Elsewhere, the financials were quiet. AIB dropped 15 cent to close at €18.85 on a turnover of close to 1.5 million shares. Bank of Ireland added 13 cent to end the day at €14.72 on a similar level of trade.

Irish Life and Permanent lost five cent to close at €20.35. Anglo Irish Bank added three cent to €13.23. Anglo is scheduled to publish results on May 10th.

Elan shed 15 cent to close at €11.40. However, the markets are expecting positive news on the stock. It will publish quarterly results today, and it is expected to get regulatory go-ahead for its multiple sclerosis treatment, Tysabri, later this month.