ISEQ smashes 8000 barrier

The financials led the charge in early trading today as the ISEQ index of shares surged ahead 50.79 points to 8027.79.

Irish Life & Permanent was up 83c to €19.03, AIB added 32c to €19.37, Anglo Irish rose 20c to €13.50, while Bank of Ireland was up 12c to €15.32.

Meanwhile, insurer FBD was up 30c to €39.20, while Ryanair was up 10c to €7.75.

CRH, however, was in the red, down 53c to €28.82 in early trading.