Market kicks off 2007 on a high

HAVING ended the year on a record high the ISEQ 100 started 2007 with another record performance.

It closed officially at 9,463.93 in Dublin yesterday, up 0.6% on the high of 9,453.05 it hit on December 28, the last day of trading in 2006.

Across Europe it was a good day all round for investors as markets surged.

A pattern of strong growth was repeated and all the major European markets started the new year by hitting their highest levels in almost six years.

Major US exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market, were closed to observe the death of former US President Gerald Ford.

In London, the FTSE 100 index surged 1.17% in mid-morning trading to hit 6,293.90 points — the highest reading since February 6, 2001.

By 4.40pm the market had gone higher still to end the day up 1.41% as investors remained confident about the outlook for 2007.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 index jumped 1.07% to reach 667.53 points, also a record high since February 2001, while in Paris the CAC 40 leaped 1.32% to 5,615.07 points, its best showing since May 2001.

Asian-Pacific markets closed up Tuesday, with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index finishing 1.7% higher at 20,310, South Korea’s Kospi Index up 0.1% to 1,435 and the Taipei exchange 1.2% up at 7,921.

In Dublin, many of year’s best performers were to the fore with investors buoyed by optimistic forecasts for the ISEQ in 2007.

Irish analysts have predicted that the outlook for Irish stocks in 2007 is still excellent following two years of very strong growth.

They are forecasting a very good year for the ISEQ which they say can grow by up to 20%.

Some of the key movers yesterday were AIB up 45c to €22.95; C&C up 45c to €13.90, DCC up 67c to €26.42; Kingspan up 43c to €20.50, and Irish Continental up 85c to €14.75.

Anglo Irish Bank was a surprise loser on the day, down 16c to €15.55, while Aer Lingus fell 4c to €2.70.