Dublin market surges ahead

THE Dublin market surged ahead in early trading yesterday as US stocks fared well overnight.

The ISEQ Index mirrored a number of other European bourses by gaining 50.74 points to 2,748.52.

The financials led the charge as all three principal Irish banks were amongst the top five leading movers on the day.

AIB tacked on 6.1c to 1.345, while Bank of Ireland and Irish Life and Permanent improved 10.9c and 29c respectively to 1.61 and 3.29.

The construction stocks had a mixed day, with sector heavyweight CRH slipping 38c to 17.57 while Kingspan and Grafton Group both moved on 16c to 4.86 and 2.81.

In other news, Ryanair holdings pushed up 26.3c to 3.554 with nearly six million shares changing hands.

Food producer Aryzta dropped 28c to 21.67.