The Irish market outperformed Europe today, as the Iseq’s minnow stocks surged ahead.
Although the biggest constituent in the Iseq, CRH, contributed to the strong session, gaining almost 2 per cent, brokers noted that it was the index’s second-line stocks that really lifted the market.
IEX-listed stocks Norkom and Merrion Pharmaceuticals jumped more than 5 per cent each to close at €1.28 and €3.60 respectively, albeit on light volume. Total Produce was up over 6 per cent on the day at 35 cent, while Fyffes closed up 3.5 per cent at 44 cent. Elsewhere in the food sector, Greencore also made good ground, closing up close to 6 per cent - or 8 cent - at €1.48.
The main newsflow affecting the market today related to former State carrier Aer Lingus. Although the airline has failed to reach agreement with unions on a €97 million cost-saving plan, brokers noted that investors reacted positively to this news as they believe that chief executive Christoph Mueller is taking “an iron fist approach” with the unions. This lifted the stock more than 5 per cent to 56 cent.
Goldman Sachs upgraded its recommendation on Bank of Ireland from 'neutral' to ’buy’ today, but according to brokers, this didn’t have much “positive feed through” for the stock, which closed the session up just 2 cent at €1.64.
Across Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 increased 0.3 per cent and Germany's DAX added 0.1 per cent. France's CAC 40 rose 0.5 per cent.
(Additional reporting - Reuters)