ISEQ’s 12% value rise points to best Q1 since 2000

The Irish stock exchange has completed its best first quarter since 2000, adding as much as 12% to its overall index value and an extra €18bn in market capitalisation.

The most valuable stock traded on the ISEQ is the building material holding company CRH. CRH alone accounts for 22% of the total value of the ISEQ.

Despite CRH’s importance to the ISEQ, it has not been a driver of the recent growth. CRH recorded a marginal fall of 0.4% for the first quarter of trading.

Ryanair is the second- biggest stock on the ISEQ, and the low-fares airline experienced extremely strong growth in the first quarter of 2012.

Ryanair shares gained 23.4% between Jan 1 and the end of March.

Other large Irish shares which experienced strong growth, contributing to the €18bn increase in the ISEQ’s market capitalisation included food producer Kerry Group, which grew 22.7%, Bank of Ireland, up 51.7%, Dragon Oil, 34.2% improved, and Glanbia, which grew by 20.2%.

The strong growth in the Irish market came largely on the back of record growth on American stock exchanges.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 both experienced their best first quarter since 1998.

The Nasdaq, adding 18.7%, recorded its strongest start since 1991.

Despite impressive growth in American markets in the quarter, they were out-performed by the Germans.

German stocks are posting their best start to a year relative to the US since 2006, as investors bet companies in Europe’s biggest economy will benefit most from improving global growth.

Germany’s benchmark DAX Index has topped every developed market tracked by Bloomberg this year as Europe’s largest banks raised forecasts for economic expansion after efforts to tackle Europe’s debt crisis succeeded in bringing down borrowing costs from record highs.