Iseq fails to match European gains

Although the Iseq climbed during the day after falling slightly on opening, the Dublin index failed to make the same level of gains as the other main European markets, closing slightly higher at 3,332.

Construction giant CRH, the largest constituent on the ISEQ, traded down more than 3 per cent at one stage, on the back of negative results from British building supply company, Wolseley but bounced back on decent volume to end the day just over 3 cent higher at €18.87.

Irish Life & Permanent was the star performer among the banks, advancing just over 6 per cent to close at €5.89, with some analysts noting a correction in the market following IL& P's slide last week.

Although trading volumes on the two main banking stocks were average, banking share prices were pretty much flat during the day, although Bank of Ireland added 1.4 per cent to close at 3.08. AIB was marginally up at €3.24.

Ryanair continued to slip following last Thursday's AGM, losing 0.55 per cent to close at €3.42, though volumes were light.

It was a mixed day for food groups Origin and Aryzta, who both posted full year results for the year ended July 2009. Aryzta, which owns 71 per cent of Origin ended the day 1.4 per cent higher at €27.59 having posted an increase of 2.5 per cent in overall revenues.

Origin's share price fell by 2 per cent at one point during the day, after warning that EPS would be lower in 2010, despite posting robust results. However, it rebounded to close 0.75 per cent higher at €2.70.

Independent News & Media closed more than 3 per cent lower as speculation about antagonism among the board continued.

Pharmaceutical company Elan slipped 0.8 per cent lower to close at €4.94, despite having made solid advances during the day following an upgrade by Moody's on Friday.

In Europe, the main markets closed higher, helped by a strong opening by the US markets. The FTSE closed up 83.5, reversing early losses by banks, mining and energy stocks, to end the day at 5,166 a gain of 1.64 per cent.

The Frankfurt DAX ended at 5,736.31 points, up 154.9 or 2.78 per cent, while in Paris, the CAC closed at 3,825 points, up 85.86 or 2.30 per cent.

US stocks rose on opening, with the Nasdaq up more than 2 percent as merger and acquisition activity helped lift investor sentiment. At 7.00pm, the Nasdaq was 2.11 per cent, or 44 points, at 2.135, while the Dow Jones was up 138 at 9,803, a gain of 1.42 per cent.