Iseq makes small gains as Kerry rises 2.4%

Iseq:2,925.95 (+5.77) Settlement date:March 10th

THE ISEQ index narrowly pipped its European peers to the post yesterday as it managed to remain in positive territory.

The Dublin market opened tentatively but crept higher as the session got under way. It got a further leg-up when US markets opened in the afternoon, but it sold off its highs into the close.

Kerry Group delivered one of the more upbeat performances on the market as investors remained positive on the stock. One broker noted that European food companies have been quite weak of late, but Kerry has held up comparatively well. “There is quite a lot of interest in the ingredients side in general,” he said.

Kerry finished the day 2.4 per cent ahead, or about 65 cent, at €27.50.

Paddy Power failed to get much of a lift despite releasing a very positive set of results yesterday. Davy Stockbrokers reiterated its “outperform” rating for the stock, but the bookmaker added just 10 cent to €29.50.

Ryanair held up pretty well given that Asian airlines were down due to higher oil prices. The low-fares carrier gained 1 per cent, or 3.4 cent, to finish just below €3.43.

Although Aer Lingus moved up past 88 cent at one point, it failed to hold on to this gain. The carrier released weak traffic statistics for February yesterday, and closed one cent off at 85.5 cent.

DCC fell almost 1.5 per cent, or 35 cent, to €23.17 following press speculation over the weekend that DCC Energy has made an offer for UK businesses being sold by Total, the French oil giant.

CRH traded for most of the morning about the €15.80 level and then spiked to €15.96 at one point. However, by the close it had retreated to €15.85, a dip of 5.5 cent on the day.

Elsewhere, Bank of Ireland slipped about one cent to finish just below 31 cent.