ISEQ climbs in morning trade
The ISEQ index of Irish shares was up 54.74 points to 6038.75 in morning trade today.
Shares in Irish Life and Permanent were up 7c to €13.17 after the group announced the sale of its closed UK life business, City of Westminster Assurance (CWA), for €70m (£47.5m).
The deal, which is expected to close in June, is pending the approval of buyer Chesnara's shareholders and the Financial Services Authority in the UK.
In the other Irish financials, Bank of Ireland saw a 22c surge to €12.30, while AIB was up 15c to €16.55. Anglo Irish Bank fell 4c to €9.71.
Meanwhile, news of a 24% rise in passenger growth at Ryanair boosted the airline's shares by 14c to €5.84.
Oil and gas exploration company Providence Resources' shares stayed level at 4c, despite today's announcement that the company has been granted a 100% interest in a new licensing option 05/3 in St George’s Channel, off the south east of Ireland.
In other share price news today, Elan saw a 7c rise to €4.55 while building company Grafton was up 20c to €9.10.
