Market rises ahead of Greek news

The ISEQ index added 3.94 points to 3,139.26 yesterday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Greece to make up its mind fast on accepting the painful terms for a new EU/IMF bailout, but the country’s political leaders responded by delaying their decision for yet another day.

In the financial sector, Bank of Ireland dipped 0.5c to 14.5c. AIB gained 0.6c to 9.4c. Irish Life & Permanent improved 1.1c to 4.8c, while insurance group FBD Holdings fell 5c to €7.20.

In the construction sector, CRH declined 16.5c to €15.61. Grafton Group lost 1.6c to €2.73, while Kingspan climbed 5c to €7.30.

In other news, Aer Lingus reported that the total flown passenger numbers, including Aer Lingus regional operations, increased by 7.3% in January, representing a continuation of the positive trend in its recent results. The shares were unchanged at 89c.