Iseq closes up with rest of Europe

The Irish market mirrored the upward movement of its European peers today, as Ryanair found favour with investors.

Low fares airline Ryanair bounced back from a recent sell-off, which had been sparked by a profit warning from EasyJet. Oil prices have since dropped and investors now appear to be taking the view that Ryanair is unlikely to downgrade its numbers when it reports results at the end of the month, a Dublin trader said.

The stock rebounded by more than 3 per cent, or 11 cent, to almost €3.67.

Rival airline Aer Lingus held up relatively well compared to the rest of the airline sector, given that the industrial dispute over new staff rosters is still ongoing.

Traders noted that there was strong support for the stock today, though volumes were fairly low, with just 600,000 shares changing hands in Dublin.

“In terms of the impact [of the dispute], investors like the valuation in Aer Lingus,” one trader said. It moved ahead by about 1.5 cent to finish at €1.03.

Elsewhere, building materials producer CRH was lifted 11 cent to €16.13. US President Obama’s reference to road building projects in his state of the nation speech yesterday may have helped the stock, one broker said.

Packaging group Smurfit Kappa also enjoyed a positive session, gaining more than 1 per cent, or 11 cent to €8.76. These gains were supported by news that a Spanish peer had raised prices for recycled containerboard.

Overall the Iseq index closed up 25.27 points at 2,935.21.