DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,818.84 (+46.48) Settlement date: June 24th:THE IRISH market took its lead from its European counterparts yesterday, trading up 1.68 per cent to 2,818.84 on what was a relatively quiet day in terms of stock-specific newsflow.
The two main banks endured another choppy day’s trading.
Both AIB and Bank of Ireland were trading around the €2 mark in the morning session, but came off sharply after lunch. Both institutions dropped back to around the €1.80 mark, but AIB managed to recover by the close to finish the week at €2. However Bank of Ireland struggled to make back the ground lost and closed down over 2 per cent at €1.768.
After peaking at €3.50, Irish Life Permanent drifted down to €3.04, a fall on the day of 4.4 per cent. Insurance company FBD gained 20 cent – almost 3 per cent – to €7.27.
Cement giant CRH, the largest constituent of the Iseq index, helped to lead the market higher yesterday, jumping 68 cents to €18.00.
However UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey’s upbeat trading statement released yesterday failed to lift its Irish peers. Grafton Group was more or less flat at €2.61, while McInerney Holdings was unchanged at 16 cents.
The big winner on the day was food group Greencore, which gained 15.5 per cent – or 18 cents – to €1.34. The stock has benefited from the new that a big buyer – Artemis Fund Managers – has accumulated a position of about 4 per cent in the group. Although brokers said that Artemis didn’t seem to be active in the stock yesterday, the news of its position has created a positive backdrop.
Glanbia also strong yesterday, trading up by almost 4 per cent to €2.35.
Among the minnow stocks, exploration company Dragon Oil delivered one of the strongest performance, gaining almost 9 per cent at €4.45.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/VR3765MFOBH2NMV2QNICYDF67M.png)