ISEQ soars

The value of Irish shares shot up by almost 3.5% today in one of the most positive days seen on the Irish Stock Exchange for a very long time.

In a day of almost universal gains across the Exchange, the ISEQ index was up 78.41 points to 2,364.18, as investors responded to decisive action at the G20 summit.

The financials enjoyed a rare day of optimism, as all institutions enjoyed massive gains in percentage terms. Allied Irish Bank led the way, jumping almost 25% (up 17c to 88c). Irish Life & Permanent was an impressive 24c gain to €1.55, whilst Bank of Ireland was up 10c to 68c.

Similarly, the construction sector enjoyed a rare day where all the players enjoyed significant gains. CRH was the biggest winner, climbing 30c to €17.69. Grafton was up 25c to €1.95, with Kingspan jumping 20c to €2.97.

With firms across the entire Exchange registering very encouraging gains, DCC (up 85c to €12.50), Paddy Power (up 30c to €12.65) and FBD were the star performers.

The only losses of any note came for Irish Continental Group (down 50c to €14) and Elan (down 24c to €4.80).