Slight upturn follows ECB statement

The Iseq Index had a slight upturn as markets across Europe waited anxiously for the outcome of a crucial ECB meeting.

Mario Draghi announced that the ECB is preparing a new bond-buying programme and that the bank is to make detailed preparations to intervene in sovereign bond markets to lower borrowing costs for some eurozone states. Interest rates remained unchanged but further economic uncertainty ahead is predicted. The benchmark index of Irish shares gained 4.17 to 3147.7.

Financial stocks again had mixed fortunes, with Bank of Ireland declining by 0.4c to 9.6c. AIB was ahead by 0.3c to 5.3c, while Permanent TSB Group Holdings was also a laggard, falling 0.6c to 2.3c.