Iseq gains 1.6% to outperform its peers in Europe

Iseq:2,404.74 (+38.61) Settlement date:September 28th

STOCK MARKETS spent most, but not all, of the day in the red yesterday, picking up where they left off on Thursday with a sell-off, as talk of a “selective default” in Greece and concerns about global economic growth set the scene for volatility.

However, in the final hour of trading, European equities scrambled back into positive territory amid speculation that global central banks will take co-ordinated measures to prevent a full-blown financial catastrophe.

The Iseq finished up 1.6 per cent compared to the previous day, with the FTSE up 0.5 per cent, the German Dax up 0.6 per cent and the French Cac 1 per cent ahead.

The big market mover in Dublin was Ryanair, which helped the Iseq outperform the major European indices thanks to a combination of a 7 per cent surge and its weighting as the second largest stock on the index. With crude oil prices sinking to a six-week low, the airline advanced 7.4 per cent to €3.20 as investors rushed to get back into the stock.

The only company with a bigger weighting than Ryanair on the Iseq is building materials group CRH, which recovered 1.5 per cent to close at €10.67, again doing better than peers in its sector.

Across Europe, it was a recovery in bank stock prices that drove the late rise in values, with investors reassured by comments from European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny, who indicated that policy makers may reintroduce 12-month loans to banks to ease funding strains.

Sellers came back into Bank of Ireland, the only bank on the main Dublin market, and it closed up more than 7 per cent at seven cent.

Irish Life Permanent trades at such low prices these days that small movements result in massive percentage changes. It closed up 60 per cent a gain of 1 cent and a closing price of 3 cent.