Irish gains mirror European trend

IRISH stocks continued to rise yesterday, mirroring gains across the European bourses. Shares in Dublin closed up 45.67 Euro points to 4636.67 Euro.

Shares in Ryanair soared 37c to 6.40 Euro. The catalyst for this was favourable movement by the US dollar and the announcement that European traveller numbers rose 7.6% in September.

The construction sector performed solidly with sector leader CRH up 30c to 15.75Euro. Heiton and Abbey also advanced, while Grafton remain unchanged. Elsewhere, DCC surged 29c to 10.78 Euro ahead of the forthcoming results.

In a positive day for the financials, giants AIB finished 17c stronger. Rivals Bank of Ireland gained 5c following Tuesday’s announced merger with the British Post Office. Anglo-Irish and Irish Life & Permanent added 15c and 1c respectively.