Market advances on low volumes

THE Irish market ended the day in positive territory yesterday despite lingering in the red for much of the day with light trading volumes due to the US bank holiday.

The ISEQ closed up 7.21 points at 2,807.11. The financials had a mixed day with the debate continuing over the future of Anglo Irish. AIB gained 1.2c to 80.7c while Bank of Ireland weakened by 1c to 76.5c. Irish Life & Permanent jumped 7.5c to €1.80 with FBD Holdings giving up 2.6c to €6.81.

In construction, CRH continued to gain ground, climbing 21.5c to €13.66. Kingspan edged higher by 1.1c to €5.60 as did Grafton Group which added 1.4c to €2.85.