IT was onwards and upwards on the Irish market for most of the week, with the ISEQ surging through the 2,400 barrier yesterday before the sharp falls in New York and London brought the Irish bull market to a halt, at least for the moment.
For most of the week, good cororate results and solid demand for shares meant the Irish market blissfully ignored the weakness on 50 international markets. Yesterday afternoon's sell off of the financials, in particular, has probably brought the Irish market to more realistic and more sustainable levels.
Where Wall Street moves next week will be a major influence on the Irish market but, given that the Dow recovered from a 120 point fall in early trading yesterday, it seems reasonable to expect Wall Street to consolidate above the 5,550 level. Whether the Irish market can go back above the 2,400 level remains to be seen, but the sentiment towards the Irish market from overseas investors remains positive.
Most of the strength in the past week has been concentrated on the industrials, and good results from CRH, Avonmore and Kerry - as well as Woodchester among the financials - gave investors confidence both in the stocks that reported and also in those like Independent which are due to report in the next couple of weeks.
Kerry's results were a good news story, but the main interest in the company this week was in Denis Brosnan's statement that he hopes to have co op rule changes in place by mid 1997, allowing the co op stake in Kerry Group go below 51 per cent.
If and when this happens, it will be one of the biggest corporate restructurings ever in Ireland and could place more than £200 million worth of Kerry shares - at current prices - in the hands of about 8,000 co op shareholders. Most of the speculation has been on the co op reducing its stake in the plc to around 30 per cent.
Elsewhere, Smurfit finally got the Tiger overhang off its back after Davy and UBS placed the US hedge fund's 54 million shares at 147p each. Given that an earlier effort to place at 140p collapsed, this was a creditable achievement by the brokers, who no doubt will feel satisfied with the estimated £500,000 commissions they will share. The market's attitude towards Smurfit immediately improved and the share seems secure above 150p.
The past week has generally been a good one for the second liners, with a whole collection of stocks trading up to new highs. Independent has been especially strong ahead of results, reviving speculation that some sort of acquisition related fund raising might be tied in with the results.
Crean was also in better demand, and the electrical acquisition in Britain was well received as a further sign of Crean's concentration on core businesses. The market will be looking, however, for an early sale of Inishtech once the takeover is completed, while the JCM distribution arm and the 28 per cent stake in United Beverages are also on the block.
Finally, Tullow was the focus of some unwelcome bid speculation, with British Gas - Tullow's partner in Pakistan - being touted as a possible predator. Tullow dismissed the rumours as "rubbish".
