Market shows modest gain

THE ISEQ index edged slightly higher yesterday continuing its recent positive momentum.

The exchange gained 11.17 points to 7943.67.

The financial sector was mixed but finished up 8.62 points overall. AIB held its own at €20.00 despite a bout of profit-taking during early trading following Wednesday’s results. Bank of Ireland gave up 10c to €14.90, Anglo Irish gained 12c to €13.60 while Irish Life & Permanent climbed 14c to €18.60.

Other movers on the day included Eircom which advanced 1c to €2.21 with Babcock and Brown now holding 19.8% of the outstanding equity in the company.

FBD jumped a further 22c to €40.72, C&C climbed 18c to €5.88 with over 3.6 million shares traded while Elan strengthened by 8c to €11.93.

Meanwhile, in the construction sector CRH gave up 5c to €27.55 with relatively modest volumes in the sector.