Iseq remains in positive territory

The Iseq index narrowly pipped its European peers to the post today by managing to remain in positive territory.

The Dublin market opened tentatively but crept higher as the session got underway. It got a further leg-up when the US markets opened in the afternoon, although it sold off its highs into the close.

Kerry Group delivered one of the more upbeat performances on the market as investors remained positive on the stock. One broker noted that European food companies have been quite weak of late, but Kerry has held up comparatively well. “There is quite a lot of interest in the ingredients side in general,” he said. Kerry finished the day 2.4 per cent ahead, or about 65 cent, at €27.50.

Paddy Power failed to get much of a lift despite releasing a very positive set of results today. Davy Stockbrokers reiterated its ’outperform’ rating for the stock, but it added just 10 cent to €29.50.

Ryanair held up pretty well given that Asian airlines were down due to higher oil prices. The low-fares carrier gained 1 per cent, or 3.4 cent, to finish just below €3.43.

Although Aer Lingus moved up past 88 cent at one point, it failed to hold on to this gain. The airline released weak traffic statistics for February early this morning, and closed one cent off at 85.5 cent.

Overall, the Iseq index closed at 2,925.95, up 5.77 points. Across Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent, Germany's DAX dropped 0.2 per cent. France's CAC declined 0.7 per cent.

Additional reporting: Bloomberg