Market rise boosted by AIB

THE Irish market rose in early trading yesterday as AIB shares surged by over 9% as reports surfaced that a Canadian bank was looking to buy a stake in the bank.

However, the ISEQ fell 2.35 points at 2,946.58.

Not surprisingly, financials had a positive day, with AIB confirming that it had had contact from an unnamed Canadian bank about taking a minority stake. AIB moved on 13c to €2.23, having been over €2.30 at one time. Bank of Ireland and Irish Life and Permanent followed suit tacking on 7.4c and 19.3c to finish at €2.13 and €3.93.