The Dublin market outperformed for the second successive session yesterday with plenty of demand for companies in the banking, construction and airline sectors.
Anglo Irish Bank was the stadout performer again yesterday – adding 12 per cent of close on ¤6.45 – but a number of traders believe the stock gains of recent days may be attributable to a technical shorts squeeze that may unwind itself in coming days.
The other financial ended in the black though by more modest margins.
On the downside, Elan lost some further ground in light volumes as did recruitment specialist CPL and luxury goods group Waterford Wedgwood.
Further afield Britain's share index ended higher as merger and acquisition activity boosted miners, while earnings weighed on both Old Mutual and ITV.
The FTSE 100 gained 31.6 points, or 0.6 per cent to end at 5,486.1, but is still down over 15 per cent for the year.
Most US stocks declined, a day after the biggest rally in four months, on disappointing earnings figures, including those from Freddie Mac. Benchmark indexes pared their retreat as oil prices dropped on an unexpected increase in inventories.
At lunchtime, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index retreated 1.35 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 1,283.53. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 3.99, or less than 0.1 per cent, to 11,611.78 after falling as much as 0.8 per cent earlier. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 12.84 to 2,362.67 as Cisco Systems rallied 6 per cent on better-than-estimated profit.
European stocks rose, with banks gaining ground after BNP Paribas delivered better-than-expected earnings and commodities rallied after Xstrata launched a $10 billion bid for Lonmin. The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares closed 0.9 per cent higher at 1192.99 points, tapping a seven-week closing high following a 2.6 per cent rally on Tuesday.
The DAX index in Frankfurt ended at 6561.39 points, up 42.69 or 0.65 per cent while, in Paris, the CAC-40 index closed at 4448.33 points, up 61.98 or 1.41 per cent.
Additional reporting: Reuters
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