NCB has put out buy recommendations on two construction-related stocks, CRH and McInerney. In the case of CRH, the brokers point out that the shares are trading on a 17.5 times earnings per share, based on expected 1999 profits, a 3 per cent discount on its European peers. NCB says it has upgraded its 1999 earnings per share forecast for the group no less than seven times this year so far, but despite that the share price gain so far this year of around 25 per cent has been modest enough. Rather than comparing to its US and British peers, CRH should instead be rated relative to European averages, the brokers say. While interest rate fears may constrain the price in the short term, NCB rates the stock as a buy.

In relation to McInerneys, the broker say that trading at a discount to its British peers, it is a "compelling" buy, with the Irish house-building division set to deliver extra profits and recent investments in other divisions and in Britain establishing a platform for medium-term growth. This view is backed by Davys, which says that "the stocks look cheap and support is deserved".