ISEQ up as Elan surges ahead

Elan led the way today as the ISEQ index of shares rose 14.93 points to 6755.76 today.

The Pharmaceutical giant's shares leapt ahead €1.20 to €7.30, a 20% hike.

The rise was down to the news this morning that a safety evaluation of multiple sclerosis (MS) and Crohn's disease drug Tysabri in MS patients resulted in no new confirmed cases of potentially fatal progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) - a disease of the central nervous system.

Elan and fellow pharmaceutical company Biogen had previously reported three confirmed cases of PML, two of which were fatal.

Though Elan's rise in value was the most dramatic of the day. There was a significant gain too for business support services company DCC, up 60c to €18.95.

Kerry Group also traded up, with a 10c rise over its opening prices. That performance follows yesterday's news of Kerry's purchase of UK chilled ready meals company Noon for £124m (€179m).

The financials all posted modest gains, with the exception of Bank of Ireland, which shed 34c (2.65%) to close at €13.22.