Financials steer ISEQ into positive territory

The Irish Stock Exchange is in the black this morning with a 13-point rise to 2,894.47 by 11am.

The financial sector helped the index to the 12.40 point or 0.47% rise with insurance giant FBD Holdings experiencing a 12c increase to stand at €6.90. The AIB also had a good morning with an 11c rise to €1.83 despite reporting a pre-tax loss of €872m for the first six months of this year due to rising losses on bad loans. The bank said it lost more than €1.5bn in its Republic of Ireland operations in the first half of the year, but this was offset by profits made in other areas.