US Labor Day casts shadow on Irish market

MARKET REPORT: The US Labor Day holiday cast a small shadow over the Irish market yesterday, with volumes low outside the main stocks.

The banks were in most demand, despite losing some steam towards the end of the day. AIB closed four cents weaker at €13.22, having reached as high as €13.35 in earlier trade.

Bank of Ireland also ended lower, finishing at €11.25, down four cents.

Anglo Irish, which had a quiet day, dropped five cent to end the session at €14.30.

Irish Life and Permanent also weakened, although the move came on low volume. Shares fell 11 cents to €12.34.

Ryanair helped to tip the overall exchange into mildly positive territory by climbing 12 cents to €4.43. Friday's solid passenger numbers helped the stock along its way.

Another useful contribution came from CRH, which added 18 cents to close at €19.10 as the market continued to mull over last week's firm interim numbers.

Grafton was also strong, with shares climbing by 11 cents to €7.21. The firm reports first-half results tomorrow, with good numbers released by industry peer, Travis Perkins, yesterday offering investors reason for encouragement.

Kingspan lost one cent to close at €5.15 in advance of posting interim results this morning. NCB is expecting operating profits to climb by 15 per cent to €41.1 million, with a healthy dividend increase also forecast. Jurys, which also releases numbers today, was unchanged at €10.55.

Fyffes gained ground after last week's interims, adding five cents to close at €1.87.

IAWS climbed 12 cents to €10.37 in advance of full-year numbers due towards the end of the month.

In the same sector, Greencore lost three cents to end at €2.85 after saying it would close a malting plant in Scotland.

Exchange minnow, Norish, was meanwhile in the spotlight as news emerged of a takeover approach. Shares fell three cents to 85 cents.