Iseq: 2,906.67 (+22.27)

IRELAND PARTICIPATED in the rebound in European equities yesterday, with mining stock Kenmare Resources leading the Iseq higher.

Kenmare, which has a secondary listing on the Irish stock exchange, finished 11 per cent up, or 5½ cent, in Dublin at 55.2 cent. On the London market, the stock was almost 5 per cent ahead at 47.83p.

One broker attributed Kenmare’s bounce to market anticipation of further earnings upgrades. He noted that earnings estimates for its Australian peer Iluka were recently lifted on the back of rising prices for zircon and ilminite. “There’s no reason to believe that Kenmare won’t see [similar] earnings upgrades,” he said.

Elsewhere in the exploration sector, Tullow Oil failed to get a boost after announcing that it has opened an offer for four million shares to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Tullow slipped ½ per cent on the London market to finish at £12.84. The stock is expected to find favour as markets digest the news that US exploration company Harvest Natural has hit oil off the coast of Gabon, which is an exploration area for Tullow.

Paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa had a volatile day, dipping more than 2 per cent at one point on concerns that it may not be able to recover higher input prices. However, the stock had recovered by the close, finishing just two cent off at €7.95.

Index bellwether CRH saw its stock rating downgraded to “neutral” by its house broker Davy due to continued weakness in the outlook for US highway construction. The stock came under pressure initially and fell below €13.87. It recovered as the day progressed, and finished more than 1 per cent ahead, or 19 cent, at €14.27.

Ryanair, the second largest stock in the Iseq index, held steady at €3.56.

Settlement date: June 16th