The Irish market rose more than 1 per cent cent today as the domestic corporate reporting season got into full swing.
Kingspan stormed ahead by almost 5 per cent, or 36 cent, to close at €7.00, after reporting its first sales growth in three years. Volumes in the name were very low, however, with little more than 100,000 shares changing hands on the day.
Aer Lingus came off more than 4 per cent on reasonable volume after the carrier reported a return to profit for 2010, but issued a cautious outlook for the year ahead as fuel costs continue to rise. There were a couple of sellers around in the stock, and it finished four cent off at 90.5 cent.
Cement stock CRH rose more than 2 per cent, or 34.5 cent, to almost €16.79 in advance of its full year results which due out tomorrow, and are eagerly anticipated by the market.
Industrial holding group DCC also had a positive session, though volumes were pretty thin. The stock closed 2.4 per cent ahead, or 55 cent, at €23.25.
Elsewhere, packaging giant Smurfit Kappa added 30 cent to €9.00.
Across Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 Index advanced 0.2 per cent. Germany's DAX Index climbed 1.6 per cent and France's CAC 40 Index rose 1.3 per cent.
Additional reporting - Bloomberg