MARKET REPORT: There was only one game in town today. Ryanair wooed the market with an impressive set of annual results, drawing the attention of both domestic and international investors.
Analysts noted that the upbeat 2011 guidance from a company with a reputation for understating estimates and the surprise payment of a dividend were particularly welcomed by the market. The stock - which saw about two and a half times its usual volume - advanced 4.4 per cent on the day closing at €3.53. Fellow airline stock Aer Lingus also saw a bounce, adding 2 cent or 3 per cent to €0.70.
Otherwise it was a fairly quiet day on the market, with the ISEQ taking its lead from the macro context. In line with the other main European exchanges the ISEQ dipped in the early part of the session, but regained ground somewhat as positive manufacturing data from the US lifted markets in the afternoon. It closed at 2,982.44 up just over 1 per cent.
Irish banking shares finished lower, mirroring the European trend which saw European banking stocks fall after a European Central Bank report stoked concern that higher funding and provisioning costs may reduce profit.
Irish Life and Permanent continued its weak form of late, and was once again the worst performer among the Irish financials, shedding 5 per cent on the day to finish at €1.85. There was huge volatility in Bank of Ireland stock according to traders, with the ordinary stock trading as low as 66 cent and finishing the session pretty much flat at 71.5 cent, while the nil paid rights traded at lows of 10 but finished at 15 cent.
AIB did relatively well, losing a cent, or just under one per cent in value, to close at €1.02.
Having spent much of the early part of the session in the red, building materials group CRH followed the general trajectory of the international markets, regaining ground to advance 3 per cent on the day. The strong performance of the largest constituent on the ISEQ, helped to push the ISEQ into positive territory, lifting the index by 1.2 per cent.
