Iseq up following budget

The Dublin stock exchange ended the day up just more than half of one per cent, a lesser performance that its European peers, where indices grew by one per cent during the day.

The bulk of the strength in the Irish market came from trading in the shares of CRH, the largest stock on the market, probably boosted by the announcement in the US of additional billions of Government investment in infrastructure there. The 3.5 per cent rise in the company’s share price, to €17.92, occurred despite news from Poland that the company was to be fined €25.6 million for involvement in anti-competitive practices. The company said it would appeal the finding.

Smurfit Kappa also did well today, again on the back of good news from the US, where there were positive comments in relation to prices. Its share price closed at €6.

There was little by way of budget reaction. Paddy Power shares rose as brokers increased their forecasts for the company, ending the day at €24.8. A tax hit expected in the budget failed to materialise.

There was very slight movement in bank shares and traders said that there was very little activity generally, with the dearth of buyers and slim volumes meaning that relatively small trades were affecting the recorded share prices.