Aer Lingus climbs on forecast of higher profits

Iseq: 2,511.81 (+10.10) Settlement date: October 4th

IRISH BONDS made more progress yesterday, pushing further into pre-bailout levels over all maturities. More than 10 years, bond yields were hovering about 7.582 as markets closed, marking a decline of roughly 0.3 percentage points on the day.

The movement came as stocks in Europe finished higher, erasing earlier losses. The first part of the day was mixed, but Germany’s decision to back a larger euro bailout fund provided a boost about mid-morning. Positive US unemployment news helped matters in the afternoon.

News was fairly thin on the ground in Dublin, where Ryanair’s agm was the main event. The airline made no changes to its guidance and closed 1.9 cents stronger at €3.282.

Aer Lingus was stronger, rising 2.3 cents to 67 cents. The airline held an investor day in London on Wednesday, with analysts welcoming higher earnings estimates.

Bank of Ireland attracted reasonable volume, probably helped by bond trends, as investors sought a “play” on an Irish recovery. Shares ended the session 0.1 cent firmer at 7.6 cents.

CC was fairly busy, posting a gain of 4.1 cents, closing at €2.87.

The market was helped by heavyweight CRH climbing 20 cents to €11.725. Other positive moves came from DCC, which rose by 20 cents to €19.20, and Fyffes adding 0.6 cent to finish at 37.6 cents on the junior market.

Paddy Power closed 102 cents higher at €38.66 as news filtered through of an application by the company for a gaming licence in the US state of Nevada. Goodbody said the move would “add attractive US optionality to the group”.

At the end of the table Zamano was unchanged at 1.5 cents.

Losers included Elan, which fell by 16.1 cents to €7.80. Independent News & Media also declined, shedding 0.8 cents to settle at 24.2 cents.