Markets present mixed bag

European markets continued to be mixed yesterday as investors sought to lock in profits garnered as a result of last week’s uptick.

Sentiment continues to be positive despite minor corrections seen early this week. The Iseq index fell 11.95 points to 3,452.04.

Irish banks rose following a speech by the deputy governor of the Central Bank, Stefan Gerlach, in Berlin last night. The main thrust of the speech was to highlight Ireland’s crisis and policy response and to lay some blame at the foot of foreign lenders to the Irish banks as part of Ireland’s wider lobbying for a deal on our debt. Permanent TSB Group added 0.1c to 3.6c, AIB followed suit moving on 0.5c to 6.5c while Bank of Ireland was 0.4c ahead 13.9c.