Market advances for fifth day

THE ISEQ index closed up 12.12 points at 2,758.31 yesterday. The index has made gains each day for the last five days running, led by the strong performances of the main banks.

AIB gained a further 7c to €1.23, Bank of Ireland jumped 20c to €1.60 as investors continued to trade the stock heavily on the back of the group’s decision to buy back its securitised debt. Irish Life & Permanent increased 10c to €3.10, while insurance company FBD Holdings added 40c to €6.75.

In construction, CRH dipped 46c to €18.14, Grafton added 1c to €2.67, while Kingspan gained 6c to €4.82.