Dublin report/Barry O'HalloranAnother day of light volumes and strong gains saw the Irish market outperform leading European bourses, including London, Frankfurt and Paris, to close almost 1.8 per cent up.
Dealers said that there was plenty of demand for shares in Dublin yesterday, but it was difficult to tempt potential sellers for most of the day.
As a result, the number of shares traded was relatively small in comparison to the advances made on the market.
The exception in volume terms was Independent News & Media, in which 19.6 million shares were traded yesterday.
Initial reports suggested that telecoms tycoon Denis O'Brien, who has over 12 per cent of the group, was again active in the company, although he may have been converting preference shares to ordinary stock. The group gained 3.5 cent or 1.66 per cent to close at €2.15.
The financials had another good day to add to last week's boost in their value. AIB added 37.1 cent to close at €16.10, an advance of 2.36 per cent.
Another bank to made good ground was Irish Life & Permanent, which added 23 cent to end the day at €14.23.
Dealers said the news that global bank UBS told the markets earlier in the day that the subprime mortgage lending crisis would cost it €10 billion helped financial stocks as it aided investors in identifying what the final damage might be to the sector.
Interest rate-sensitive companies are benefiting from the view that there will be a rate cut in the US this week.
Building materials giant CRH gained on the back of news that rival Lafarge is buying a big Egyptian player in the sector. The company closed €1.18 up at €26.83.
Merchant and DIY group Grafton had another solid day, closing 14 cent up at €6.16.
