Dublin Report: The Irish Stock Exchange ended its last full day of trade in 2004 with gains of 25 per cent on the year, well ahead of most of its peers.
While the recovery of pharmaceutical group Elan has played a large part in fuelling the exchange's advance this year, the ISEQ rose about 15 per cent even when its impact is stripped out.
Yesterday, the ISEQ notched up another fractional rise in what were reasonable volumes for a holiday trading session.
AIB, the market's largest stock, led the way in solid trading, adding nine cents to close on €15.28, a level not seen since May 2002. AIB performed particularly well towards the end of the year, with dealers attributing the gains in part to the strong showing of M&T, the US bank in which AIB has a 22.5 per cent stake, which is trading close to 52-week highs.
Anglo Irish Bank concluded another stellar year with a rise of five cents to €17.85, almost 42 per cent ahead of its position at the end of 2003.
Bank of Ireland gave up three cents to €12.20 in quiet trade, while Irish Life & Permanent was off 10 cents at €13.65.
Away from the financials, CRH again outperformed despite the weakness of the dollar, in which half its profits are denominated, adding 17 cents to €19.85.
Traders said the company's operational strength was likely to be re-emphasised in a full-year pre-close statement on Wednesday alongside a run through the group's acquisitions in the second half of 2004, which was likely to provide a further spur for the stock.
Eircom saw a little profit-taking, with the stock coming back a couple of cents to close on €1.73. Elan also took a breather after moving ahead on news of US approval for its Prialt painkiller. It gave up 13 cents to €19.65.
Independent News & Media continued to move ahead following an upbeat trading statement before Christmas. It added another cent to €2.32 though trade was light.
