ISEQ up as Ryanair, Elan perform well

The ISEQ had a good day today, buoyed by falling oil prices and a satisfactory day in London.

The Dublin index was up 50.03 at 5447.51 at the end of the day.

However, Iona shares continued to slide, losing 35c, or 8.8%, to stand at €3.65.

Despite announcing a 4% increase in first-half turnover, C&C Group was also in the red, losing 11c (4.3%) to close at €2.45.

As Aer Lingus’ troubles continued to hit the headlines, Ryanair was one of the day’s biggest winners, seeing a 4% increase in share price, up 17c to €4.42.

Shareholders in pharmaceutical firm Elan will also be happy, with their shares climbing 43c (2.4%) to €18.25.

It was a bad day for food company IAWS though, slipping 24c, or 2.3%, to €10.11.

Although travel software company Datalex reported an improvement in first-half performance, a gloomy outlook for H2 revenue saw its shares fall 1c (2.3%) to 43c.

The financials showed modest gains, with Irish Life and Permanent the best-performing, up 13c (1%) to €12.38.

Bank of Ireland also had a 1% increase, up 11c to €10.91.

AIB posted a gain of 12c to €12.92, while Anglo Irish Bank was up 5c to €13.55.

FBD Group continued to perform well, up 15c to €16.70 on the day that it announced that Vincent Sheridan of the Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) joined the board.

Independent News and Media was up 1c to €2.01 on the news that The Irish Independent’s circulation was up, due in no small part to the paper’s new compact edition.

The index’s other media group, Ulster Television, was unchanged at €5.75. The company has launched a new residential telephone service in Ireland, UTV Talk.

Building materials group CRH was unchanged at €18.65 after a heavy day’s trading.