Ryanair up as Air France merger hits turbulence

The Iseq index was up 47.07 points today to close at 5179.58.

Ryanair saw its share price rise 12c to close at €4.47 after fellow low fares airline Easyjet lodged an objection to the Air France-KLM merger proposals.

The new entity has introduced a €3 seat surcharge per flight that will not be revoked until the price of crude oil drops below €30 for three days in a row.

Shareholders at Glanbia's annual general meeting heard that results this year will be in line with market forecasts.

Glanbia closed down 5c to €2.25 on the news.

Shares in DCC rocketed 20c to €12.95 on news of the company's latest €26.8m buyback scheme.

The business support services group has taken its spending close to the €100m mark with this latest announcement.

United Drug dipped 5c to €2.55 after H1 results saw pre-tax profits of €19.4m. Analysts expect further synergies in its UK operation throughout H2 as the company moves to a new warehouse and distribution facility in the UK.

Food group Greencore's interim results next week are expected to show continued strong performance in the UK that will be impacted in sterling's fall against the euro.

Shares on the Iseq were up 5c to €3.00 today.

Independent News and Media saw iTouch - in which it has a 50% stake - report its maiden profit. Shares in IN&M were up 6c to €1.89.

Financials saw AIB up 14c to €11.94, Anglo Irish up 16c to €12.16 and BOI down 5c to €9.90.