Merrill Lynch is adopting an increasingly positive stance on CRH and is recommending the building materials group as a buy for investors.

The broker is maintaining its long-term rating as a buy and its price target for the stock of €25 (£19.70) saying its recent fall from a September high of €21.60 has been overdone.

Merrill Lynch analyst, Mr Ken Rumph, explained that many people had been worried about interest rates going up, but the broker does not think the half percentage point rise in European Central Bank rates signals the end of the world for economic growth in Europe. "It actually indicates the beginning of growth."