Iseq rallies amid much attention

On a day when all eyes were on Ireland and today's much-anticipated government bond auction, the Dublin market rallied as the Government succeeded in raising €1.5 billion of debt, though at a higher interest rate than in the previous month.

The ISEQ added a half a per cent, outperforming its European peers, as the positive outcome of debt sales by Ireland, Spain and Greece, was overshadowed by disappointing forecasts from Deutsche Bank.

In Dublin, financials were immediately up on the back of the results of the bond auction. While the stocks did not manage to hold all of the gains, Bank of Ireland and AIB finished in positive territory. Bank of Ireland closed up marginally at €0.65, while AIB added 3.3 per cent to finish at €0.63.

Irish Life and Permanent dipped into the close, for no particular reason according to traders, losing a relatively significant 3 per cent, or 5 cent, to finish at €1.56.

Elsewhere, there was little stock-specific news-flow to move markets, with analysts noting that economic rather than company-specific events continued to shape the ISEQ. Volumes were also relatively light across the board.

Origin was up almost 4 per cent at €2.80 ahead of results tomorrow.

Volumes in Ryanair were strong, ahead of its AGM and trading update tomorrow. The stock, which went ex-dividend last week, added 5 cent or just over 1 per cent to finish at €3.89.

Fellow airline stock, Aer Lingus, also put in a strong performance, breaking through the significant €1 mark, to finish at €1.02, a gain of 2 cent.

Packaging group Smurfit Kappa continued to weaken, shedding 6 cent to €7.34, amid weak sector news from the US.

Pharmaceuticals giant Elan was one of the best performers of the day, adding 5.5 per cent to close at €3.92.