THE Dublin market soared ahead yesterday, with the value of Irish stocks ending the day up by one per cent, on the back of a strong recovery on Wall Street.
Good reaction in New York to US inflation figures for March triggered a rally on Wall Street, pushing share prices well ahead once more. The knock on effect was immediately felt in London land Dublin, with the firmer tone benefiting financial stocks in particular.
In Dublin, Bank of Ireland was one of the star performers, with the stock going 13p higher to 648p. While buoyed by the stronger trend, its gains also reflected the final acceptance by members of the UK-based Bristol & West building society of its £600 million bid at its annual general meeting yesterday.
Though this approval was seen to be a virtual certainty by most market analysts, investors were still glad to see the deal formally go ahead a year after the announcement. Bank of Ireland shares were in good demand throughout the session and were well bid at 643p, with analysts suggesting that it may go even higher later this week.
AIB also enjoyed a good run, rising 7p to 453p. Most other financial stocks also managed to move with the rising tide, with Anglo Irish Bank up 4 1/2p to 80p and Irish Permanent up 2p to 600p. Irish Life, however, turned softer, drifting to 324p, down 1p, while Woodchester dropped 5p to 256p.
In the industrial sector, Smurfit managed to claw back some of its losses of last week, gaining 2p to 160p. CRH also forged ahead, going 8p better to 641p.
Stocks in the food sector put in a mixed performance. Avonmore was unchanged at 235p, while Waterford Foods stayed at 100p. Kerry gained 4p to 634p.
After its surprise profits warning on Monday, Fyffes weakened, dropping 4p to 96p, Golden Vale was unchanged at 64p, while Greencore shed 3p to close at 340p. Much of its weakness was due the rejection of a Labour Relations Commission proposal designed to resolve a long running dispute at its Irish Sugar subsidiary. The workers are still unhappy with pay rates being offered and the dispute seems set to continue for some time.
