Investor anticipation drives financials forward

Market report: Anglo Irish Bank hit an all-time high on a day when investors focused on financials and let the ISEQ index of Irish shares drop 17.69 points to 5,807.51.

Buyers forked out for 1.3 million Anglo Irish shares driving the price at one point to €15.60, a record for the bank. It closed at €15.57, a 22-cent gain on the day.

Dealers said that the market expects its interim results, due later this month, to be strong.

Investor anticipation of good figures also drove support for Bank of Ireland, which finished nine cents up at €11.03 after 4.5 million shares changed hands. The bank is due to publish its half-year results next Thursday.

There were also decent volumes in AIB, with two million shares traded. It closed one cent up at €13.78. Irish Life and Permanent was the exception, shedding five cents to close at €13.45 on volumes of just over 920,000.

There was plenty of fizz in soft drinks and cider producer, C&C. It was the subject of a one million-share order, one of the biggest on the day, and gained three cent to close at €2.59. Total volumes were two million.

Ryanair maintained the heights it reached earlier in the week, adding four cents to close at €4.73.

At 1.78 million shares, volumes were a lot lower than Wednesday's eight million.

A Goldman Sachs note saying the markets have overestimated the value of Elan's Alzheimer's treatment, Antegren, sparked a sale of 2.2 million of its shares,which dropped 75 cents to close at €20.44.

CRH dropped 26 cents to €18.90 after investors sold just over one million of its shares. The market's other building materials supplier, Kingspan, lost 4 cents to end the day at €6.35.

Independent News & Media recent run appeared to be running out of steam after it shed two cents to close at €2.23, however, dealers pointed out that there was still plenty of interest in the stock and 1.25 million of its shares were traded.

Settlement Day: November 9th