Dublin report: The Irish market started the new year with a bang today, continuing the upwards march it made last year and putting paid to any thoughts that things couldn't get any better.
The Iseq gained 1.4 per cent, to end its first day of trading in 2007 at a record 9,537.
Fyffes and its new spin-off Total Produce were the few newsmakers of the day, though C&C and Kingspan yet again grabbed the limelight, making significant gains on the back of positive sentiment for the stocks. Both companies featured in Standard Life's top stock picks for 2007.
Drinks group C&C ended the day up 46 cent, or 3.4 per cent, at €13.91, while Kingspan rose 41 cent, or 2 per cent, to €20.48.
Elsewhere AIB also put in a strong performance, unusually for once moving ahead without its comrade Bank of Ireland.
AIB added 71 cent, or 3.2 per cent, to end the day at €23.21 as more than 1.4 million shares changed hands.
Fyffes, meanwhile, was very active with more than eight million shares changing hands. The stock, which comprises the original tropical fruit business and an interest in property group Blackrock, is due to move from Dublin's main market to the IEX next week.
Yesterday the shares closed at €1, a value which, when added to the Total Produce closing price of 76 cent, is only 2 cent lower than the combined group's closing share price on their last day of trading before the split.
Only 870,000 Total Produce shares changed hands, however. Dealers said this may indicate that investors are more interested in the potential property play in Fyffes's Blackrock holding, rather than the general produce business that makes up the new entity, Total Produce.
Settlement day: January 5th
