Eircom benefits from Meteor takeover rumours

Dublin Report: Business was brisk on the Iseq yesterday, with the index ending the session modestly higher.

The spotlight settled early on Eircom after it emerged that Denis O'Brien has pulled out of the race to acquire Meteor. Eircom is now seen as the favourite to buy the mobile phone company, a feeling that pushed its shares up by six cent to €1.90.

Attention also focused on Jurys, where shares fell back by 20 cent to €15.45 despite Wednesday's new takeover approach from Precinct at €16.50.

The decline suggests that some in the market are cynical about Precinct's ability to complete a deal, even though the consortium has very strong backers.

CRH did well after Citibank and Morgan Stanley followed a number of Irish brokers and raised their forecasts for the firm. The stock was also boosted by rumours that it could be considering a buyback of up to 5 per cent of its shares in 2006. It gained 20 cent to close at €22.19.

C&C continued to strengthen amid reports of a strong rollout of Magners in London. The drinks and snacks firm gained 13 cent to finish at €3.90. Abbey lost ground after releasing results that disappointed the market. The housebuilder pointed to declining Irish profit margins. Its shares fell by 22 cent to €9.43.

Grafton also fell back, as investors wondered how the weak UK consumer market would affect its business in Britain. Davy pointed out that the UK slowdown makes Grafton's acquisition of Heiton look "all the more astute". The firm fell by seven cent to €8.66.

Ryanair was strong, gaining six cent to close at €6.61, in spite of news that last week's London bomb hit bookings.

In the financials, Irish Life & Permanent was flat at €14.39, despite reports of improving life and pension sales. AIB fell again, losing six cent to end the day at €17.62. Bank of Ireland fared better, rising by eight cent to €13.60, while Anglo Irish shed seven cent to close at €10.39.

Settlement Day: July 19th