Elan’s heavy weighting on the Irish stock market came to the fore again today with the pharmaceutical company accounting for virtually all of the ISEQ’s 62-point gain today.
Elan closed euro 2.85 higher at 67.85 as the Dublin share price caught up with the US quote after the long weekend in the US. Elan’s gain accounted for 61.5 of today’s 62-point gain.
The broader market remained flat today with the banks showing modest gains. AIB added one cent to euro 12.95 while Bank of Ireland gained five cents to euro 11.55.
Eircom weakened slightly as its board began deliberations on the two rival bids for the company. Eircom shed two cents to euro 1.16.
London closed weaker in very thin and quiet post-bank holiday trading.
Vodafone was the most influential stock after it reported full-year trading results which were £7.04 billion, ahead of forecasts of £6.9 billion. Worries about how the company would increase its customer base and the 3G rollout timetable weighed on its shares, which fell 3.5 per cent.