Ryanair moves higher in active trading

Ryanair continued its recovery yesterday, hitting its best level in a fortnight on a day when the Dublin market as a whole enjoyed reasonable fortune.

The Iseq traded up fractionally, in line with its international peers.

Traders said there was decent interest in Ryanair, which added 2 per cent or 10 cent to close at €5.09. About 6.5 million shares traded in Dublin, making the airline the most active of the larger caps in the market.

Rival Aer Lingus slipped back slightly in quiet trade, ending the day at €2.60, down two cent.

Elsewhere, it was a good day for C&C, which climbed back through the €10 threshold in reasonable volume on a day when rival Scottish & Newcastle reported increased cider sales in the UK market. The stock advanced 21 cent or 2.12 per cent to finish the day on €10.11.

The financials were again, in the words of one trader, trading sideways, with AIB closing unchanged on €20.30, and both Anglo Irish and Bank of Ireland advancing marginally to close on €15 and €15.17 - gains of two cent and seven cent respectively.

Irish Life & Permanent fared better, closing 1.51 per cent stronger on €18.80.

It was a bad day generally for the construction sector, with McInerney, in particular, taking a bath. The housebuilder shed 8.57 per cent to close on €2.24 despite encouraging reports on the British construction sector which accounts for a significant portion of group activity.

Grafton was another group out of favour as it retreated 13 cent or 1.22 per cent to €10.50. CRH ended the day 10 cent off after profit-taking ate into earlier gains in the wake of Monday's upbeat trading statement.

IAWS spin-off Origin Enterprises advanced 10 cent or 2.8 per cent to €3.65, with dealers noting some evidence of stakebuilding.