Strong demand for a whole range of financial and industrial stocks produced the best daily gain for the Irish market for some time, although the gains were not accompanied by any huge volumes. Few investors are willing to sell in size and the outlook for the market seems positive, given a strong results season.
The index was boosted by a 6 per cent gain by Elan on the NYSE, putting it firmly in line for a 30 per cent weighting in the ISEQ. That would make Elan the Nokia of the Irish market, commented one dealer, referring to the Finnish telecoms group's absolute dominance of the Helsinki market.
Bank shares were boosted by an upgrade by Commerzbank, which has enhanced its target price for AIB from €11.80 to €13.40 and Bank of Ireland from €8.30 to €8.95. AIB dealt up nine cents to €10.85 while Bank of Ireland was 20 cents firmer on €7.65. After a couple of sellers knocked the shares back 60 cents on Tuesday, Irish Life recovered 20 cents to €10.90 with dealers anticipating an early resumption of the buyback programme.
A view that the share has been oversold helped Eircom jump 14 cents to €2.56, with the market anticipating some movement on the KPN 21 per cent stake before the end of the month. Independent - the focus of recent overseas buying - gained 19 cents to €4.49 while IAWS benefited from its bumper results and was 10 cents higher on €7.30. CRH was 22 cents higher on €18.18 while Smurfit again dealt in size without the price going anywhere and closed a cent higher on €1.95.
