Iseq holds up in light trading as building stocks gain

Iseq: 2,604.54 (+ 16.25 ) Settlement date: October 21stTHE DUBLIN market held up well compared with its European peers yesterday, despite comments from Berlin and international economic indicators that damaged international market sentiment.

The Iseq gained 0.63 per cent, while the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares closed down 0.4 per cent. However, volumes on days the Iseq moves up tend to be light in Dublin, and yesterday was no exception.

Traders said the market was driven by stock-specific news, with building materials group CRH leading the charge. Positive house-building data from the US boosted sentiment for the sector and the largest stock on the Iseq closed at €12.95, a rise of 2.05 per cent.

Grafton Group also benefited to close at €2.85, an increase of 0.35 per cent.

The increased interest in investing in Bank of Ireland did not do its stock price any harm and the remaining Irish financial on the full Dublin exchange closed at €0.09, a gain of 2.13 per cent.

DCC got a boost from the UK where a competition report from the Office of Fair Trade was viewed as helpful towards its ambitions in the UK energy market. However the report failed to lift its share price, which closed unchanged at €19.4.

Elan had a good day, rising 2.53 per cent to close at €8.1. Other stocks that ended the day in positive territory included Aer Lingus, up 2.8 per cent to €0.73, and Paddy Power, up 0.74 per cent to €39.29. Ryanair did not do as well, up just 0.25 per cent to €3.25.

Turkmenistan-focused oil firm Dragon Oil announced it had extended its contract with Socar Trading for the sale of the group’s share of crude oil production, through Baku, Azerbaijan, but it did nothing to help the stock price in Dublin, where it closed down 1.39 per cent, at €5.37.

Tullow Oil fell by 1 per cent to €15.62.