Market regains some lost ground

THE Irish market closed in positive territory yesterday for the first time in over a week. Solid moves among the financials were primarily responsible for the upward movement. The ISEQ index closed the session up 175.44 at 6,378.41.

The banking sector overall moved forward as AIB and Bank of Ireland added 30c and 20.9c to €13.32 and €9.15. Anglo-Irish followed the trend gaining 40c to €9.58, while Irish Life and Permanent also moved on 49c to €10.80.

The construction sector saw market mainstay; CRH add €1.17 to €25.20 after reporting a 17.5% increase in adjusted EPS for 2007. Kingspan also advanced 35c to €8.45 and Grafton was 11c up at €5.26.