Market regains some lost ground

THE ISEQ index closed up 119.27 at 2,621.15 on a more active day for the market yesterday.

The main financial stocks had a mixed day. AIB gained 12c to €1.89, Bank of Ireland dipped 2c to 90c, Anglo Irish Bank shed 1c to 20.7c, Irish Life & Permanent increased 12c to €1.85, while insurance group FBD enjoyed a good gain of 45c to €7.90

In construction, CRH soared €1.35 to €20.15 after it said it expects to see pre-tax profits of over €1.6bn for 2008, which is in line with analysts’ expectations, as the building industry remains in difficult straits. Kingspan fell 2c to €3.24 and Grafton Group added 6c to €2.49.