Market achieves modest gain

THE ISEQ index yesterday gained 106.67 points to 4,606.63 on a light day for corporate news. Wall Street had performed strongly on Thursday as oil prices fell and investors took advantage of cheaper financial stocks after two straight days of heavy declines.

Banks had a mixed day. AIB fell 10c to 8.65. Bank of Ireland was up 2c at 6.07. Anglo Irish Bank added 7c to 6.35, while Irish Life & Permanent moved 25c ahead to finish at 6.05.

In the construction sector, CRH gained 9c to 18.50 with the announcement of the appointment of Glenn