Irish shares rise at end of week as investors return to buy battered travel stocks

One market analyst said: “Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic seem content to push higher for the time being."

Shares in ICG, the Irish Ferries owner, gain at end of week.

European shares advanced, heading for their best weekly advance since mid-March as investors returned, lured by cheaper valuations.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index gained over 1%, with hard-hit consumer and retail sectors outperforming. 

In Ireland, the Iseq index rose 1.3% in the session, helping to trim its losses to 10.5% in the past year. Irish hotel and travel shares performed well. 

Shares in Dalata — the Clayton and Maldron chains owner — and Irish Ferries-owner ICG, climbed by around 3% on Friday. Ryanair shares edged higher too.      

“It’s been a positive week that could show markets have started to stabilise, with equities having already repriced,” said Nieves Benito, head of fundamental research at Santander Asset Management. 

“Markets have already priced in central banks’ tightening paths and China is showing more support so, all in all, we see more certainty than weeks ago when volatility was so high,” he said. 

“Stocks on both sides of the Atlantic seem content to push higher for the time being, but this isn’t a return to the old ways of steady gains," said Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online broker IG. 

However, "a gain of even 10% from here might look like an all-clear signal for investors, but growth and earnings forecasts probably need to come down a bit more, which in turn points towards fresh lows for the market in the months to come,” he said. 

In the week, European stock funds had outflows of €187m, their 15th week of redemptions, according to Bank of America. Overall, investors added about €18.7bn to global stock funds in the week as dip buyers returned. 

Irish Examiner and Bloomberg