Iseq lags behind its European peers

Global equity markets were flat yesterday, with safe-haven assets such as the US dollar and gold making gains as signs of economic recovery pointed to the likelihood of near-term cuts in central bank stimulus. Closer to home, the Iseq under-performed, giving up almost 1 per cent.

DUBLIN
There were signs of investors buying into the Irish recovery story yesterday, as both Bank of Ireland and Green REIT advanced despite a decline in the overall Iseq index. Under-performing its European peers, the Iseq closed down by almost 1 per cent at 4,238.60.

Bank of Ireland gained almost 2 per cent, albeit on low volumes, to close up at €0.20, while Green REIT was up by 3 cent, or 2.1 per cent at € 1.17, although as one broker noted, "volumes were quite lumpy". Ireland's second REIT, led by WK Nowlan and Willett Companies, a New York-based property investment firm, is due to start trading in September.

CRH did a little better than its construction peer group, closing flat on the day at €17.06

Smurfit Kappa came off a small amount, falling below €15 as it shed 18 cents, or 1.2 per cent to finish the day down at €14.94.

Ahead of Channel 4's documentary on Ryanair and its safety record, which was broadcast yesterday evening, the stock was a bit of a laggard versus the market. It closed down by 27 cents, or 3.8 per cent, at €6.93.

Food group Kerry was also a little weaker on the day, giving up 29 cents, or 0.6 per cent to close down at €47.03.

LONDON
In the UK, stocks were little changed, after two days of gains, as financial services companies such as Man Group declined and a report showed Japan's economy expanded in the last quarter slower than forecast. The FTSE 100 retreated 9.05, or 0.1 per cent, to 6,574.34 at the close of trading in London.

“We would expect markets to be quiet and, for the first time in quite a few summers, relatively lacklustre throughout most of August absent any corporate news,” Matthew Beesley, the London-based head of equities at Henderson Global Investors said.

Man Group, the world's largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, lost 4.1 per cent to fall back to 88.65 pence, while Ladbrokes slid 2.6 per cent to 193.9 pence after JPMorgan Chase cut its rating on the shares, citing the weak outlook for the UK retail industry and an increasingly competitive online market. Prudential, the UK's biggest insurer by market value, climbed 4.1 per cent to 1,232 pence, its highest price since at least 1988, after it posted a 22 per cent jump in first-half profit as sales in Asia advanced.

EUROPE
European stocks closed little changed at a 10-week high as a rally in mining companies offset slower-than-forecast economic growth in Japan.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index increased less than 0.1 per cent to 306.08 at the close of trading. Germany’s DAX added 0.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 dropped 0.1 per cent.

Roche added 1.5 per cent to 239.60 Swiss francs. NZZ am Sonntag said the drugmaker is distancing itself from a possible takeover of Alexion Pharmaceuticals. Roche was said to have informally approached Alexion in July about a deal.

US
On Wall Street, stocks were little changed, although gains by Apple and BlackBerry helped the Nasdaq to rise.

Many traders are away on holiday in August, contributing to low trading volume, which can amplify market volatility. US listed shares of smartphone maker BlackBerry advanced after the company said it had set up a committee to explore strategic alternatives that could include joint ventures, partnerships or a sale of the company. Shares of Apple, the world's largest technology company, rose after technology blog AllThingsD reported that the company is expected to present its redesigned iPhone in September. – (Additional reporting Bloomberg)