The Irish market advanced in line with its European counterparts today, thanks largely to a strong performance from CRH.
The cement producer gained traction after holding an investor day in London on Friday, and in New York today. Analysts reported that comments made by CRH at these events indicated that dividends will be maintained this year.
The stock, which is the largest component of the Iseq index, traded around the €13.00 level early in the session, but jumped almost 5 per cent, or 64 cent, over the course of the day to finish at €13.69.
AIB remained in favour today, gaining another 5.7 per cent, or about two cent, to finish at just under 41 cent. However volumes in the stock were thin, with just two million shares changing hands.
Following the release of its interim management statement on Friday, Bank of Ireland was downgraded by NCB today, largely because of the bank’s increased government guarantee costs. The stock was almost 3 per cent softer - or 1.2 cent - at just under 40 cent, on very heavy volumes.
Elsewhere, packaging giant Smurfit Kappa finished stronger after a “torrid time” in recent sessions. The stock finished at €7.80, a gain on the day of 1.5 per cent or 12 cent.
National benchmark indexes gained in all 18 western European markets. The UK's FTSE 100 increased 0.3 per cent, while France's CAC 40 and Germany's DAX advanced 0.8 per cent. The Iseq index closed 0.8 per cent higher at 2,697.05.