European markets stage recovery

European markets improved overall yesterday in contrast to Friday’s decline, helped by a late surge on Wall St following the release of strong US jobs data.

The Iseq Index was no exception, closing the session up 20.96 points to 4,021.98.

In the financial sector, banking stocks were positive overall with AIB and Bank of Ireland gaining ground. The former added 0.1c to 5.9c while the latter advanced 0.3c to 16.6c. Permanent TSB was remaining at 2.9c. Elsewhere, insurer FBD Holdings declined by 10.5c to €15.10.

In construction, the latest PMI for the sector showed some improvement in June with the index coming in at 43.4, up from 42.0, representing the highest level since February. CRH climbed 41c to €15.63, Grafton added 2.3c to €5.52, while Kingspan bucked the trend, dropping 4.5c to €10.43.