Main movers not the banks as market gains 2%

THE Irish stock market gained about 2% yesterday, but shares other than the main banks were the news-makers.

As Ryanair gained 8% on soaring profit forecasts, packaging group Smurfit Kappa rose by more than 3.5% to close at €6.39, a gain of 22c on the day.

Though a hostage to economic cycles the group’s packaging operations set to benefit from any pick-up in international markets that most analysts anticipate for 2010.