Iseq finishes the week on a positive

DUBLIN REPORT 2,976.25 (+28.12 at close): The ISEQ finished the week in positive territory in line with European markets which rose on the back of positive economic data from the US which showed the fastest pace of economic growth in six years.

However, the ISEQ slightly underperformed compared to its European counterparts, with the Central Bank's prediction that the Irish economy will return to growth in the second half of this year failing to make a huge impact on the overall direction of the market.

Nonetheless, traders noted it was a good end to a sluggish month for the ISEQ. As would be expected on the last trading-day of the month, activity was brisker than in recent days.

The two main banking stocks were among the best performers. AIB rose 5 per cent to close at €1.20, while Bank of Ireland gained 3 per cent to €1.325.

Irish Life & Permanent was again under pressure, with one trader noting that the stock failed to recover from a major sale of IL & P shares yesterday afternoon. Nonetheless, having fallen under €3.00 at one stage the share price regained some ground to end the session just over a half a percentage lower at €3.10.

Smurfit continued its recent winning streak, adding 1.3 per cent to end at €6.60.

Paddy Power also found a bit of support, closing at €23.90 - a gain of 4 per cent - but this was after a volatile performance during the session.

Greencore saw a lot of activity yesterday, reaching a closing price of €1.35.

There was little movement on Ryanair, though it inched up marginally to close at €3.35, as investors positioned themselves ahead of Monday's third quarter update by the airline. Similarly, a 'wait and see' attitude characterised trading in DCC stock, ahead of its Interim Management Statement next week.

Overall, traders noted that the start of the results season next month should give some direction to the market after an extremely quiet opening to the year.

In Europe stock markets ended the week in the black, boosted by strong economic data from the US and positive sales forecasts from BMW and semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies.

France's CAC 40 added 1.4 per cent, while Germany's DAX increased 1.2 per cent. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 rose 0.8 per cent, boosted by a rally in mining shares.

In the US, disappointing results from technology companies offset the positive data on economic growth. On Wall Street, indices were volatile during the session. At 5.45pm, the Nasdaq was down 8 points at 2,171 while the Dow Jones was trading 18 points higher at 10,139.