Irish market follows strong US trend

THE Irish market opened solidly yesterday, following on from a strong session in the US on Wednesday night. Despite slipping back in the afternoon, the ISEQ index still closed 26.04 points higher at 5367.39.

Allied Irish Bank gained 9c to €12.87, Bank of Ireland rose 8c to €10.75 while Anglo Irish Bank edged 1c higher to €13.46.

Ryanair rose 4c to €4.30 despite comments from Michael O'Leary that €40m could be wiped from annual profits if oil prices stay at the current high levels. Waterford Wedgwood rebounded from Wednesday’s 8-year low, rising 7% to €14.8c. Grafton Group added 8c to €6.78 following an upgrade by a leading international broker. McInerney fell 4c to €5.41 while CRH firmed 4c to €18.59.