Market gains for second straight day

European markets continued to rally on the back of positive sentiment on the strength of the German economy.

The Iseq Index gained ground for the second consecutive day climbing 54.5 points to 3387.6.

Another mixed day for the financials saw Bank of Ireland adding 0.1c to 11.6c with over 101m shares traded. AIB dipped 0.1c to 5c while Permanent TSB Group added 0.3c to €2.32. FBD Holdings gave up 5.5c to €10 on the day.

In construction, sector leader CRH jumped 72c to €15.04. Apogee, a peer of CRH’s glass operations, reported strong Q3 results with earnings of $0.28 ahead of consensus of $0.24, reflecting better than expected margins.

Meanwhile, Grafton Group gained 13c to €3.76 with Kingspan rising 8.2c to €8.28.

Elsewhere, Independent News & Media gave up 2.2c to 2c, Irish Continental Group jumped 55c to €18.70, while paper and packaging firm Smurfit Kappa shed 36c to €9.