Relief as some losses clawed back

There was a sigh of relief in the Irish market yesterday as the Iseq index of Irish shares clawed back some of Monday's losses and ended the day up 1.4 per cent. This equates to the addition of €1.5 billion back on to the index's value.

While dealers welcomed the increase, they were quick to point out that the Irish market had, as has become usual, underperformed its European peers.

For a change, C&C was one of the best performers. The drinks group rose 5.8 per cent, or 33 cent, to €5.98, a welcome gain after the significant decline in the group's shares following two profit warnings over the summer. The shares are down 57 per cent from the record level they reached in January.

Dealers were unable to pinpoint any particular reason for the gains, except to say that investors were perhaps hoping for some positive news in the AC Nielsen data due out at the end of the week. As many as three million shares traded.

The financials put in a disappointing performance, particularly when compared to the strong gains in the FTSE banking index. Irish Life & Permanent was the biggest gainer in the sector, though dealers said it was more a rebound from the significant losses seen on Monday than anything fundamental. The shares added 2.2 per cent, or 37 cent, to end the day at €16.97.

Elsewhere AIB added only 17 cent, to close at €17.85, while Bank of Ireland was up just 10 cent, at €12.72.

Dealers reported decent two-way trading in Anglo Irish, with the shares rising as much as 2.7 per cent, before falling back to close just 5 cent, or 0.4 per cent higher, at €13.55.

CPL added 1.6 per cent, or 10 cent, to €6.35 after reporting an 80 per cent increase in net profit, though volume was very light.