DCC stock climbs to all-time high

Dublin report:After the record high on Tuesday, everything went a little downhill yesterday as the Iseq slipped 46 points on a slack day for international markets. Few stocks made gains, but DCC did manage to climb 20 cent to €20.20, an all-time high.

The Aer Lingus story remains the hottest topic in town, but even that went a bit lukewarm yesterday as the number of shares traded fell from 12 million on Tuesday to just four million yesterday. Shares in the former State airline did climb five cent, however, to €2.95, as both sides - the eager-to-accumulate Ryanair and the Aer Lingus pilots trying to block Ryanair's bid - wait to see who will blink first. Ryanair itself lost 13 cent to land at €8.50, down 1.5 per cent.

Cider still rules for Irish drinks group C&C, which is expected to post a 67 per cent surge in first-half earnings today (according to Reuters) on the back of the successful launch of Magners in the UK. The stock saw profit-taking yesterday ahead of today's numbers and fell 11 cent to €11.43, a drop of almost 1 per cent.

Among the financials, AIB was the most heavily traded stock but it shed 12 cent to close at €20.82. Anglo Irish Bank fell eight cent to €13.52, while Bank of Ireland dropped four cent to €15.42. Irish Life & Permanent completed a poor day for the banks by falling 11 cent to €19.49.

Apart from DCC and Aer Lingus, the only other stocks to make gains yesterday were CRH, Icon, Irish Estates, Kenmare, McInerney, Norkom, Ormonde, SouthWharf and Waterwood Wedgwood, but in most cases the gains were far from spectacular.

Among the main losers of the day were Grafton, which fell 22 cent to €11.13, a drop of almost 2 per cent. Food group Kerry shed 25 cent to €18.35, while pharmaceutical stock Elan closed at €12.20, down 25 cent on the day.