Irish, European stocks continue rally

Irish and European stocks continued their rally today but showed signs of slowing down as the European Central Bank warned about intensifying risks to recovery, while Wall Street awaited details of President Obama and Fed chairman Ben Bernanke’s plans for the US economy.

In Dublin, the Iseq index of Irish shares gained 0.18 per cent to close at 2524.01.

The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index, which measures leading stocks in 18 western European markets, added 0.7 per cent to close at 230.47 this afternoon.

In London, the benchmark FTSE 100 added around 0.4 per cent to close at 5340.38.

A 1 per cent jump in oil prices on world markets gave exploration and production group Tullow Oil a boost. In Dublin, it added 13.3 per cent to end the day at €13.84.

In London, where most of the Irish company’s shares are traded, it added just shy of 4.8 per cent to close at 12.27 sterling.

The Dublin market’s biggest stock, building materials giant CRH slipped slightly, closing 0.21 per cent down at €11.885. Its good run yesterday had earlier looked set to continue as it gained almost 1 per cent in early morning trade, but buying activity levelled off during the day.

In a related area, DIY and builders’ merchant Grafton lost just over 1 per cent to close at €2.85. Figures showing first-half sales at one of its British rivals, Homebase, were down 3 per cent on a like-for-like basis were thought to have prompted the fall. Grafton does around 70 per cent of its business in Britain.

Earlier today, shareholders in US drug technology business Alkermes voted to buy Elan’s formulation and manufacturing unit for around $960 million. The deal will turn Elan into a pure biotechnology play and leave it with $300 million in cash.

The stock gained 0.45 per cent to close at €7.413.

Kingspan ended the day more or less flat at €6.201, but it gained almost 1.3 per cent in early trade. A US peer, NCI Building Systems, reported a 7 per cent increase in revenues and a 3 per cent rise in profits, late on Wednesday.

Elsewhere, airline Ryanair continued its good run of form, adding 1.9 per cent to close at €3.159.