The last trading day on the Dublin market for 1998 turned out to be a fitting end to a year when the market made significant gains, despite the negative atmosphere internationally. The 1.3 per cent increase in the overall ISEQ index on the day was welcomed by dealers, who have seen the value of the Dublin exchange increase by 25 per cent for the year.
"End of year trading is normally quite flat, but there was a decent amount of buyers in the market today," said a dealer. However, he said most of the interest was confined to the leading stocks and second-liners were mostly unchanged.
Volumes were also low, with trade taking place for only half the day.
While the birth of the euro stifled the trading on other European markets, it seemed to give a lift to dealers in Dublin. From January 4th, share prices in Dublin will be quoted in euros and yesterday some dealers were unsure how smooth the transition will be.
On the day CRH was the strongest of the big names, rising 20p to £11.60, still benefiting from the flurry of demand which has followed on from its offer for Ibstock, the British brick manufacturer.
Bank of Ireland was strong too, rising 15p to £14.95 in thin trading. AIB fell back 141/2p to £12.03 in equally downbeat trading.
Irish Permanent was up 10p to £10.10, while its future partner Irish Life lost 3p to close at 632p. Smurfit slipped back again, losing 4p to 121p in small volumes. Donegal Creameries was back 10p at 180p, while Independent Newspapers remained unchanged at 270p despite announcing a major restructuring programme and significant management changes.
