Anglo Irish stands out as market hits doldrums

MARKET REPORT: The Iseq struggled for direction yesterday, ending just slightly ahead after a quiet day.

Anglo Irish Bank was again among the best performers, as its shares rose 13 cent to €11.03.

The stock was upgraded on Tuesday by Merrion Stockbrokers and investors are eyeing a strong pipeline of business at the bank.

AIB had a more muted day in price terms, closing one cent ahead at €17.90. Volume was buoyant however.

Bank of Ireland gave up some of the strength it displayed earlier in the week, losing 17 cent to finish at €13.68.

Irish Life & Permanent ended flat at €14.50 ahead of today's briefing on the impact of IFRS.

Outside the financials, C&C shed five cent to close at €3.95 as the lock-up period for its largest shareholder, BC Partners, expired. BC Partners owns slightly more than 15 per cent of the drinks and snacks group.

Eircom fell by two cent to €1.85 on decent volume. The stock continues to be surrounded by speculation on its plans for Meteor, which has been put up for sale by Western Wireless. Eircom is bidding against Smart Telecom for the mobile operator.

Eircom watchers were yesterday encouraged by news that O2 is still drawing its highest revenues per user from the Irish market. The outcome bodes well for Eircom if it is successful in buying Meteor, analysts said.

Ryanair had another good day as its ADRs continued to power ahead in the US. Shares in the airline, which yesterday said it would develop a new base in Pisa, rose by five cent to €6.85

Abbey held up well after going ex-dividend by 22 cent. The housebuilder ended the session eight cent weaker at €9.30.

Elan gave up some of the previous day's gains, slipping back by seven cent to €6.50.

IAWS was weak, falling 12 cent to €11.40. Dealers pointed to investor concerns about raw material costs.

Irish Continental Group was unchanged at €10.00, despite a new €12.50 price target from Davy.Dublin ReportSettlement Date: July 25th