Iseq moves up 60 points

The Dublin stock exchange finished the day 60 points to the good after crude oil prices plunged 1.79 dollars to $64.15 a barrel today as tensions eased in the stand-off between Britain and Iran over captive British military personnel.

The ISEQ finished up 60.41 at 9,400.98 by the end of trading despite a largely negative performance from the financial sector.

Irish Life and Permanent tumbled 18c to €20.37 while Anglo Irish Bank fell 16c to €15.76 and AIB went down 14c to €21.45. The only bank to buck the trend was Bank of Ireland who saw their share price rise 10c to €16.10.

The biggest riser of the day came in the construction sector with building material group CRH climbing 57c to €32.59. It reflected the positive mood in the sector as Kingspan went up 23c to €20.03 followed closely by Grafton, up 20c to €11.36. McInerney Holdings had a more modest 10c rise to €15.60.

The food sector joined in the positive mood with Kerry Group up 47c to €21.37 and IAWS rising 20c to €17.30.

Elsewhere, Smurfit climbed 42c to €19.10 and pharamceutical giant Elan increased its price by 30c to €10.20.

Paddy Power was the only company to have a significant fall, the betting firm tumbled 45c to €20.15.