Market at last stages good performance

Dublin report:Investors breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as the market at last put in a decent performance.

The momentum within the Irish market itself was still limited, but luckily for Dublin the UK had enough to share round. The Iseq closed up 1.3 per cent.

Support services group DCC was one of the day's star performers, adding 3.7 per cent, or 88 cent, to close at €24.80. As many as 441,000 shares traded, which although not a high volume compared with some stocks, is above average for DCC.

Exploration minnow Ormonde Mining was also a good gainer, up 6.1 per cent in percentage terms after receiving a hammering on the back of negative news about one of its Spanish tungsten projects.

The stock closed up 1 cent, at 17 cent.

Elsewhere Ryanair was busy. More than 4.6 million shares traded, helping the stock end the day up 11 cent, or 1 per cent, at €10.90 despite the overnight rise in the oil price.

The banks and CRH were also strong, though their gains were more a consequence of the market sentiment than the result of any specific news, dealers said.

Anglo put in the biggest percentage gain, though volume was light. It rose 29 cent, or 1.8 per cent, to close at €16.09.

Bank of Ireland, meanwhile staged a decent intraday rally, rising to a record €18, before falling back slightly to end the day up 19 cent, or 1.1 per cent, at €17.69.

AIB climbed 26 cent, or 1.2 per cent, to €22.64.

CRH meanwhile rose 45 cent, or 1.5 per cent, to €30.85.

C&C and Aer Lingus were two of the few losers on the day. The drinks group fell 15 cent, or 1.3 per cent, to close at €11.75, while the airline slipped 5 cent, or 1.7 per cent, to end the day at €2.90.