Relief as BoI, up 24.5%, leads bounce in bank sector

DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq:2,923.82 (+112.09) Settlement date:November 9th

RELIEF WAS the primary feature of the markets yesterday, according to traders, with bank stocks leading a rally that saw the Iseq surge 4.5 per cent at one point before profit-taking saw it end the session 3.99 per cent stronger.

In line with recent experience, the Dublin market outperformed on a good day for global markets – although this time on the upside.

Bank of Ireland led the way, with the shares jumping as much as 30 per cent on results that, in the words of one trader, "just didn't need to be too bad".

About 24 million shares were traded in Dublin and London after the bank was seen as addressing all the issues that had been spooking the market ahead of the figures. The stock ended the day on €1.75, 34½ cents or 24.5 per cent, ahead on the day.

Other financials benefited from the bounce with AIBadding 24½ cents, or 16.96 per cent, to close on €1.69, albeit in lower volumes. Irish Life & Permanent, which had not suffered as much as the big two earlier in the week, responded more modestly in relative terms to finish on €4.653, up 32.3 cents or 7.46 per cent.

The upbeat mood was not confined to the financials with construction and airline stocks also recording noticeable progress.

CRH,the dominant force in the market, benefited from results at cement group Heidelberg that were well-received. Those results, pointing to a more optimistic outlook in the UK market, boosted other players in the sector, with Grafton, Kingspan, Abbeyand McInerneyall recovering some ground.

On the downside, the food sector gave up a little ground, with Greencore and Kerry among the handful of stocks in negative territory by the end of the session.

However, neither fared as poorly in percentage terms as Independent News & Media,which slipped 5 per cent to 19 cents in very light volume.