Dublin ReportSettlement Day: July 25thEircom was again the centre of attention yesterday, as the market continued to digest the firm's €420 million planned acquisition of Meteor.
Some nine million shares changed hands in the telecoms group as it went ex-dividend by six cent. The stock held up well under the circumstances, closing three cent weaker at €1.67.
The market as a whole was more or less flat, with volumes weak across the board as investors focused on more important issues such as the Galway Races.
Business was particularly light in the financials, with price movements also limited.
AIB fell by nine cent to €17.91, while Bank of Ireland added seven cent to close at €13.89. Anglo Irish shed five cent to finish at €11.05. Irish Life & Permanent, which is a central player in the current drama over 100 per cent mortgages, strengthened by 14 cent to close at €15.14. IFG had a good day, rising by four cent, or 3.3 per cent, to €1.24.
Elsewhere, CRH did well on the back of positive updates on trading from more US peers. The stock added 30 cent to end the session at €23.23. Grafton was also firm, climbing by 13 cent to €9.28. Kingspan rose by nine cent to €10.60. Elan was firm in advance of today's second-quarter results, which are expected to offer some update on progress with Tysabri. The firm's partner in the drug, Biogen, was bullish on its future on Tuesday. Elan closed at €6.65 last night, up 15 cent. Jurys Doyle, which is also expected to be in the news today, was flat at €15.75.
In the food sector, IAWS continued to win back last week's losses, adding 16 cent to close at €11.66. Ryanair was on the losing side at the end, having fallen by seven cent to €6.60.
C&C also declined, despite another positive update on Magners from Merrion Stockbrokers which found that volumes of Magners sold in London have climbed by 50 per cent in the past six weeks. C&C finished at €4.02, down three.
