Kenmare leads Iseq higher

Ireland participated in the rebound in European equities today, with mining stock Kenmare Resources leading the Iseq higher.

Kenmare, which has a secondary listing on the Irish stock exchange, finished 11 per cent up, or 5.5 cent, in Dublin today at 55.2 cent. On the London market, the stock was almost 5 per cent ahead at 47.83 pence.

One broker attributed Kenmare’s bounce to market anticipation of further earnings upgrades. He noted that earnings estimates for its Australian peer Iluka were recently lifted on the back of rising prices for zircon and ilminite. “There’s no reason to believe that Kenmare won’t see [similar] earnings upgrades,” he said.

Elsewhere in the exploration sector, Tullow Oil failed to get a boost after announcing that it has opened an offer for four million shares to be listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Tullow slipped half a per cent on the London market to finish at £12.84. However the stock is expected to find favour as markets digest the news that US exploration company Harvest Natural has hit oil off the coast of Gabon, which is also a significant exploration area for Tullow.

Paper and packaging giant Smurfit Kappa had a volatile day, dipping more than 2 per cent at one point on concerns it may not be able to recover higher input prices. However the stock had recovered by the close, finishing just two cent off at €7.95.

Index bellwether CRH saw its stock rating downgraded to "neutral" by its house broker Davy today due to continued weakness in the outlook for US highway construction. The stock came under pressure initially and fell below €13.87. However, it staged a recovery as the day progressed, and finished more than 1 per cent ahead, or 19 cent, at €14.27.

Overall the Iseq index rose 22.27 points up 2,906.67. Across Europe, Germany's DAX Index gained 0.2 per cent, while the UK's FTSE 100 Index and France's CAC 40 Index increased 0.1 per cent.

Additional reporting - Bloomberg