Bank stocks moved ahead in thin trade yesterday reflecting buoyant overseas markets, although traders internationally are awaiting further details of Japan's response to its economic crisis.
Japan and the Asia crisis were likely to be on the agenda for a long time, one dealer said, and markets remain nervous.
The ISEQ index was up 0.81 per cent per cent on the day, reflecting the global upturn with France, in particular, closing on a record volume of dealings.
AIB made good its 6p gain on Monday, notching up a further 15p yesterday, to close at 990p, while Bank of Ireland closed up 28p to 1360p.
Irish Life gained 1p, to 621p, Hibernian was unchanged at 750p, and Anglo Irish Bank was up 2p to 182p. But Irish Permanent shed 5p to close at 820p. The main industrials and other second-liners, had a lacklustre trade, with few showing any upward movement. CRH was the exception, closing up 6.5p to 1027p, although one dealer said there was no significant turnover and it was "just ticking over".
Smurfit was down 1p, amid its US interests being hit by weakness in the paper and packaging sector in the US, while Clondalkin slipped 10p to 620p in two deals, and Ryanair eased back 4p to 496p.
The food group, Greencore, which recently announced pre-tax profits of £25.4 million for the half-year to March, dealt up 8p to 378p in six deals, but Fyffes was down 3p to 175p, and Golden Vale was down 2p to 110p.
In an otherwise quiet day for company news, Galen Holdings, the Belfast pharmaceutical company, is having merger talks with the Dutch group, Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Dealings have been suspended until the end of the year, reflecting, according to one dealer, "a fairly complex transaction" for the highly-rated company.
Among the resource companies, Navan Resources, which is currently at 46.5p, indicated that it hoped to return to profit in two to three years with the focus on base and precious metals, especially in Spain. Dragon Oil, which is looking for buyers for the chairman's 46 per cent share of the company, slipped back 2p to 50p, down 13p since last month.
