Glanbia top performer as banks rise

Dublin report:Less negative news on financial stocks in Europe and the US served to buoy Irish financials which, in turn, held up the market generally, although sentiment in the US was changing at around the time of the closure of the Dublin market, writes Colm Keena.

AIB finished the day up 0.9 per cent, at €15.29, with Bank of Ireland 2.2 per cent stronger at €10.48, and Anglo Irish Bank ahead by 2.2 per cent on €10.27.

The main mover of the day was Glanbia, on the back of its positive trading statement predicting strong earnings growth for 2007 driven by demand for dairy products. The share price finished the day up 8.5 per cent, at €5.10, having hit a historic high of €5.14½ during the day.

Telecoms and communications entrepreneur Denis O'Brien issued another update on his shareholding in Independent News & Media. He now owns 15.36 per cent of that company, having made another triggering transaction on January 3rd. The stock closed up 1.7 per cent, at €2.38, at which price O'Brien's stake is now worth €288 million. He has not yet disclosed his plans in relation to his investment in the company.

Ryanair's share price continued to lose altitude. It finished down 4.4 per cent, at €3.90, with traders assigning the fall to lack of confidence in the UK economy, the price of oil, and less than exciting load figures. The share has fallen 15 per cent in value in the first week of the year, with sentiment generally being against airline shares.

A significant number of Ryanair shares changed hands, with nine million being offloaded in Dublin, and 11 million in London.

Grafton fell during the morning but rallied a little in the afternoon. It finished the day down 0.19 per cent, at €5.36 while IAWS finished the day up 1.25 per cent at €15.34.