On a low-volume trading day described variously as "dead" and "really quiet", industrial and pharmaceutical shares climbed, while banks saw their prices slip.
Smurfit rose 5 cents to close at €2.90, and CRH climbed 5 cents to €19.50, with analysts suggesting that demand for cyclical and industrial stocks was up. "A lot of people have been focusing on the industrial stocks over the last couple of weeks. That is probably sector rotation, and a feeling that maybe the banks' margins are under pressure but that the environment is still quite positive for industrials and commodity cyclicals," one analyst said.
Elan was up too, by 65 cents to €26.43. Dealers said the pharmaceutical sector has been quite weak in past couple of weeks, and that it appeared it was beginning to pick up again.
Trading in Ryanair shares was seen as relatively flat. With the company releasing its latest quarterly results today the share price fell 5 cents to €9.35.
Banking shares continued to slide, although AIB steadied after its recent fall, closing where it started the day at €11.95. Bank of Ireland fell 5 cents to close at €8.65, while Irish Life and Permanent slipped 15 cents a share to €9.35. First Active dropped 4 cents to end at €3.36.
Telecom Eireann inched upwards to close at €4.50, up 2 cents, despite market advice from the company's brokers, Merrill Lynch, that the share was a medium term "accumulate" and a long-term "buy". The investment bank said its rating of the stock was justified by above-average earnings growth and a falling corporate tax rate.
Analysts said there were some signs that smaller shares on the Dublin market were beginning to bottom out. "They have been under a lot of pressure in July. while nothing is rallying very strongly, most stocks seem to have found a little bit of support."
