Settlement Date: March 11thShares closed modestly higher yesterday despite a weaker performance on most international markets, including a soft opening on Wall Street.Good performances from Galen and CRH helped offset the generally downbeat tone overseas although one dealer described volume in Dublin as "quite pathetic".
"There are buyers around for Irish stock but no-one is prepared to pay up," he noted.
Shares in CRH closed 13 cents higher at 12.26 as it continued to benefit from the release of robust 2002 results earlier this week.
Galen also turned in a strong performance, adding 45 cents to 4.90 in Dublin after announcing the acquisition of three women's healthcare products from Pfizer.
The acquisition came as little surprise but the market welcomed the deal, particularly the inclusion of a contingent payment of $125 million related to market exclusivity of the drugs, something not seen in previous Galen transactions.
Financial stocks had a quieter day, turning in a mixed performance. AIB closed nine cents higher at 12.05 but Bank of Ireland lost four cents to €10.09 despite announcing the purchase of more shares. The bank said it had bought back a further 367,089 shares at a price of €10.10 per share on Wednesday.
Irish Life & Permanent failed to advance further on the back of its recent full-year results, losing 15 cents to 8.80. However, Anglo Irish Bank remained in demand, adding six cents to €6.46.
More than 11 million Arcon shares changed hands, although the share price was unchanged at 0.03, after the company announced a new zone at its Galmoy zinc mine contained an estimated 400,000 tonnes of zinc, 160,000 tonnes of lead and 4.7 million ounces of silver.
