ISEQ in the black

The ISEQ index of Irish shares has closed in the black, up 46.33 points to 9377.89.

There were positive gains across the financial sector. Allied Irish Bank rose 17c to €20.49 while Bank of Ireland was up 7c to €15.17.

Anglo Irish Bank rose 2c to €15 while Irish Life and Permanent (ILP) saw a 3c gain to €18.08. Three of the bans - all bar ILP - were among today's most-traded stocks, as were the shares of building materials group CRH and airline Ryanair.

Financial services group IFG saw its shares rise 2c to €2.27 today after it announced the appointment of Gary Owens as chief executive of its Irish business.