Shares claw back from heavy losses

Shares in Dublin continued to claw back some of the recent heavy losses suffered in line with trends across European and US markets. The Iseq jumped 66.4 points to 3926.7.

Banking stocks were relatively flat despite the increasingly negative media attention surrounding Anglo Irish Bank. Bank of Ireland added 0.8c to 15.9c; AIB was unchanged at 6.1c, while Permanent TSB Group Holdings remained at 2.5c.

In Construction, CRH climbed 33.5c to €15.55. In the US, the latest data from the American Road Transportation Builders Association show the US highway contract awards declined by 11% year-on-year in May, following a 16% decline in April. Meanwhile Apogee reported robust results. Kingspan Group gained 20.1c to €9.751 and Grafton Group added 3c to €5.30.