Irish shares tried very hard to end the week with a strong flourish. But outside forces spoilt the fun. Sentiment was influenced by the falls in Wall Street and other European bourses and world bond markets. At the close, the Irish market had run out of steam and ended up steady. CRH again benefited from the improved sentiment in the British construction sector, following the signal from the Bank of England that Thursday's rate rise would be the last for some time and it had a robust 29.73p rise to 729.73p.
In the financial stocks, AIB shed 6p to 618p. The boards of Avonmore Foods and Waterford Foods got approval for its merger plans from the Tanaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Ms Harney, as expected. Avonmore, more influenced by the initial strength of the market than the decision, moved up 1p to 315p. Waterford did better with a 5p gain to 180p. Smurfit which this week acquired two companies in Germany for £29.7 million, added 3p to 225p. Taking their guidance from the sagging US Treasuries, bonds slipped back in thin trading. By 4 p.m., the 6.5 per cent 2001 bond was down 15p at 102.35p to yield 5.84 per cent. Currency is likely to be the focus again next week. Alert eyes will also be on US data, Irish wholesale prices and an auction announcement by the NTMA on Thursday.
