Iseq trails behind European rises

The Iseq trailed major equity indexes today, as Greek rescue fears weighed on peripheral European nations.

“Core Europe is perceived as being solid,” one Dublin broker said. “Portugal, Ireland and Greece remain in the doghouse for the time being.”

The main European markets went better all day, boosted by positive Chinese industrial numbers in the morning, followed by US retail sales data that surprised on the upside.

“There was a general rally across the board. People were willing to take a bit more risk, but unfortunately that didn’t involve Ireland, which got left behind a bit.”

Some profit taking was evident in stocks that have enjoyed decent runs of late. Insulation group Kingspan tumbled almost 2 per cent, or 14.4 cent, to just under €7.11.

Cider maker C&C also shed nearly 2 per cent, finishing about seven cent off at €3.49.

Also in negative territory was Paddy Power, which slipped 21 cent to €34.79.

The beginnings of the ’silly season’ combined with the first day at the Ascot race meeting -which always acts as a draw for City traders - resulted in thin volumes right across the board.

According to brokers, investors are looking for direction but there will be a dearth of earnings news over the summer months. The stock that everyone is watching is index heavyweight CRH, as it is thought likely that the cement giant will update the market in late June or early July.

CRH traded further above its key support level of €14.00 today, closing almost 2 per cent higher, or 27.5 cent, at about €14.55.

Overall the Iseq rose about half a per cent, but lagged behind other European benchmarks. The UK's FTSE 100 gained 0.8 per cent, France's CAC 40 rallied 1.6 per cent and Germany's DAX advanced 1.8 per cent.

Additional reporting - Bloomberg