Stock markets rally after latest govt interventions

The ISEQ Index of Irish shares was up 4.5% in early trading today, with the banks all seeing their share prices rise.

The positive move follows the European Commission's approval of Ireland’s bank-guarantee scheme overnight.

European and Asian stock markets also rallied today amid renewed efforts by world leaders to address the global financial crisis.

Yesterday, eurozone countries agreed a common set of rules to bail out their banking sectors, pledging to guarantee all loans between banks until the end of next year.

They have also agreed to buy shares in struggling banks.

The G7 group of nations also approved a five-point plan over the weekend to unfreeze credit markets.

The stock markets in Asia, Australia and the big European economies were all up this morning as a result of the latest interventions.