Strong showing by financials
The financial sector performed strongly. The leading banks led the surge in the financial sector, with Allied Irish Bank adding 42c to €12.77 and Bank of Ireland climbing 34c to €9.47. Anglo Irish was up 17c to €6.62, Irish Life & Permanent 15c higher to €10.20 and IFG closed 5c better off to 45c. First Active remained unchanged at €5.70. The financial Index of shares closed 238.88 points higher to 7871.41 points.
UBS Warburg analyst Paul Major raised its recommendation for Galen as the stock closed the session 40c higher to €5.25. Elan gained 75c to €4.40 after it announced it will raise €650 million in cash to reduce its debt obligations for 2003. United Drug added 33c to €13.20.
