Market inches higher as banks show upside

Market Report: The market closed a touch stronger last night, led by a solid performance from the banks. Bank of Ireland was busier than most, with about 6.5 million shares traded between Dublin and London. Shares climbed 15 cents to €10.83.

AIB continued to gain ground after posting sound interim numbers earlier in the week, adding 17 cents to finish at €12.73. Davy said the stock has about 20 per cent upside for the coming year. Citigroup Smith Barney has meanwhile raised its 2004 profit forecasts for the bank by 2 per cent.

Irish Life and Permanent, which Davy says has upside of about 15 per cent, climbed by 15 cents to €12.50. Anglo Irish was the sectoral loser on the day, falling 16 cents to €13.12.

Outside the financials, CRH was in impressive form as it added 41 cents to close at €18.61.

Ryanair suffered on the back of higher oil prices and cautious comments from chief executive Mr Michael O'Leary. Shares in the airline shed five cents to close at €4.50, with Tuesday's second-quarter results expected to show an improved performance.

Elan remained in a volatile groove, dropping 76 cents to €16.14. The firm's second-quarter results contained few surprises.

Kerry fell six cents to €17.15 on reasonable volume. Analysts at NCB pointed to results from ICI which included an encouraging four-month contribution from Quest, the company recently acquired by Kerry.

Jurys moved up to €10.85 before closing unchanged at €10.80 after unveiling details of its new Croke Park hotel.

Heiton lost 10 cents to finish at €6.20 on tiny volume, with dealers reporting a severe shortage of stock on the market.

Grafton, meanwhile, added another seven cents to close at €6.70 as it continues to mull the future of its smaller rival.

Petroceltic was notably active as the market welcomed its receipt of a new licence from the Algerian government. Shares gained 3 per cent to close at 17p in London.

Settlement Day: August 3rd