MARKET REPORT: Hotel group Jurys Doyle took a severe knock after failing to please the market with 2003 numbers yesterday.
Settlement Day: March 2nd
Shares fell close to €9.00 soon after the numbers were posted but found some support later in the day, eventually finishing 65 cents weaker at €10.15. Downgrades are expected to emerge today.
AIB traded off gently on lower volume than in the previous two sessions. Shares in the bank, which have been downgraded in the wake of Tuesday's results, closed at €12.27, down three cents. Goodbody's new price target on the stock is €13.50.
Anglo Irish Bank, where executives are engaged in investor presentations, continued to steady, closing 10 cents stronger at €13.35.
Bank of Ireland fell 12 cents to €10.65. The bank bought back 100,000 shares at €10.77 on Wednesday.
Irish Life & Permanent slipped back by 10 cents to €13.17 on low volume. The bank is due to post 2003 results on Wednesday.
FBD was unchanged at €14.50 as it emerged that Bank of Ireland Asset Management has raised its holding in the company from less than 4 per cent to 7.3 per cent.
CRH watchers took heart from results from French peer Lafarge, pushing shares up 20 cents to €16.75. CRH will also report 2003 numbers next week.
Ryanair suffered little on news of its withdrawal from the London-Charleroi route, with shares gaining five cents at €4.70.
Datalex was quiet as it met expectations with 2003 results. Shares were unchanged at 63 cents.
Paddy Power continued to feel the benefit of Wednesday's impressive numbers, gaining 20 cents to close at €8.35.
Kerry Group, which also reported earlier in the week, looked solid as it rose 45 cents to €15.10.
Barlo was one cent weaker at 41 cents as the MBO offer document began to wing its way to shareholders. Volume was unremarkable.