Market up as Spanish rumours mount

Shares in Dublin continued their positive momentum yesterday as speculation mounted across Europe that Spain is close to requesting a bailout despite advice from German officials to Madrid to hold off.

The ISEQ Index closed 20.3 points stronger at 3,299.6.

In the financial sector, AIB was marginally lower by 0.1c to 5.4c, Bank of Ireland was unchanged at 9.8c while Permanent TSB Group Holdings declined by 0.1c to 2.5c. Insurer FBD Holdings advanced 10c to €9.90.

In construction, CRH dipped 1c to €14.82. Peer Wolseley reported solid financial year 2012 results (to the end of August) with trading profit of £665m, which represents year-on-year growth of £665m. Kingspan fell 5c to €7.95 while Grafton Group dropped 3c to €3.39.

Elsewhere, Ryanair gained 1.2c to €4.47, with Aer Lingus also tacking on 2c to €1.08. The IATA released its latest global profit forecasts for the airline industry in which it upgraded its outlook for US and Asian carriers but downgraded its outlook for Europe.