Iseq rises with CRH gaining 3% while banks slide

Iseq: 2,906.43 (+24.76) Settlement date: March 31stTHE TRADING week got off to a slow start on the Irish market yesterday as investors sat on the sidelines in advance of Thursday's banking stress test results.

CRH aided the market with a decent performance, gaining 3 per cent, or almost 50 cent, to €16.88 on almost 1.5 times normal volume. There was no specific news in the stock, but one broker noted it continues to be favoured by investors looking for a play on ongoing recovery in the US.

EasyJet was also up 3 per cent on comments from its chief executive over the weekend but Ryanair did not really react to this move, closing just fractionally higher at €3.27.

Rival airline Aer Lingus lost ground, slipping 1.5 cent to 75 cent.

Paddy Power, which had been flat-lining of late, gained almost 2 per cent, or 60 cent, on normal volume to close at €30.70.

Banking stocks remained under pressure ahead of the stress test results, which are expected to show a further capital hole at Irish lenders of between €18 billion and €23 billion.

Bank of Ireland fell marginally to 25.8 cent, while Irish Life Permanent dipped 1.5 at one point, before recovering to 74 cent.

Building materials producer Readymix came under pressure initially after it announced that potential takeover talks with unnamed third parties had been terminated. It slipped two cent in the morning session, but then firmed up over the afternoon to finish unchanged at 20 cent.

Glanbia had a fairly strong showing, adding 10 cent or more than 2 per cent to close at €4.35.

Overall the Iseq led European markets higher, gaining about 25 points to finish at 2,906.43.

One broker noted that international investors remained nervous in the face of ongoing geopolitical events.