The Irish market inched into positive territory by 4.30 today with volumes still light across the board.
Among the main movers were DCC which reported a 12.3 per cent rise in its full year pre-tax profit to €18.17 million following a number of successful acquisitions and what the company said was strong organic growth. The stock, which was up around 6 per cent at one stage, eventually ended nearly 4 per cent stronger as it added on 58 cents to €15.68.
Elsewhere, finance group IFG, which said its business was performing well despite the problems in the property market, also enjoyed a good day. Reconfirming its guidance for the year, its share price was up 12 cents to €2.22 at 4.30pm although volumes were very thin.
C&C saw its stock slide back by 11 cents to €5.17. Earlier in the day, it had been reported that sales of its Magners Cider in the UK had slumped by almost a third in March from the same month last year, according to data from research company Nielsen.
Financial stocks were in positive territory, with Anglo Irish Bank and Bank of Ireland among the better performers. Anglo was 18 cents up at €9.53, while Bank of Ireland tacked on 9 cents to €8.78.
Construction stock McInerney slipped back 4 cents to €0.93 on light volumes.
European stocks rose for a fourth day as higher oil and power prices lifted earnings prospects for energy producers and utilities, while investors speculated takeovers will increase.
National benchmark indexes gained in all 18 western European markets except Italy. The UK's FTSE climbed 1.2 per cent while Germany's DAX climbed 1 per cent. France's CAC 40 rose 1.3 per cent.