Banks shares stage rally

IRELAND’S financial stocks rebounded yesterday as the European Commission backed further moves to alleviate the country’s banking crisis.

While the ISEQ index of Irish shares, as a whole, continued its upward creep (yesterday’s marginal rise amounting to just over 1.4%, to 2,875 points), the banks reversed Monday’s poor showing with their own small gains.

On the back of lessening concerns over the eurozone’s economic crisis and the temporary EC approval for additional state support for AIB, Irish Nationwide and Anglo Irish Bank, banking stocks rallied.