Dublin market closes higher

Investors were a little more “risk-on” today due to strong US corporate results and a growing sense that a debt crisis solution…

Investors were a little more “risk-on” today due to strong US corporate results and a growing sense that a debt crisis solution may come out of tomorrow’s crunch meeting of euro zone leaders.

Ireland joined in the relief rally that lifted European markets, and the Iseq closed almost 1 per cent up at 2,864.50.

The market is expecting "something definitive" to come out of tomorrow's summit in Brussels as Europe attempts to tackle its sovereign debt crisis, a Dublin broker said. There is "market chatter" that an approach may be agreed that involved buying bonds in secondary markets.

Despite growing hopes of a solution being agreed upon, the mood was nervous on the Irish market, with prices "swinging round" on light volume, he said.

Exploration company Dragon Oil delivered the strongest performance of the day, gaining more than 4 per cent, or 26 cent, in advance of the publication of its first-half update today. This gain brought the stock to €6.26.

Low fares airline Ryanair also went better ahead of its quarter one results due out next Monday. The market will be paying particular attention to any guidance provided for the second quarter. The stock added almost two per cent, or six cent, to close at €3.30.

In the food industry, Kerry undid some of the damage from Tuesday's session, and put back on 1.5 per cent, or 45 cent, to close at €29.07. Bakery group Aryzta was also in positive territory, trading up by about half a per cent to €36.98.

Across Europe, France's Cac-40 index closed up 57.9 at 3752.9, while in Germany the benchmark DAX Index rose 28.69, or 0.4 per cent, to 7,221.36.

Additional reporting - Bloomberg