Iseq mirrors European equities by rising 2.8%

Iseq: 2,549.91 (+69.12) Settlement date: October 11th:THE ISEQ was a lifted boat on the rising tide of European equities yesterday, as the speculation this time focused on a possible agreement among policy makers on a method to contain the sovereign debt crisis.

The Bank of England also reignited its quantitative easing programme, as the European Central Bank held its base interest rate at 1.5 per cent.

National benchmark indexes rose in almost all western European markets, with the Dublin market registering a climb of 2.8 per cent.

This compared to a rise of 3.7 per cent on the FTSE 100, while France’s Cac was up 3.4 per cent and the German Dax rose 3.2 per cent.

Bank stocks across Europe soared following reports in the French media that the French government is considering a contingency plan to take stakes in the country’s lenders.

In Dublin, Bank of Ireland closed up 4.9 per cent at 9 cent, on heavy trading volume.

In the food sector, Kerry rose 1.7 per cent to a closing price of €25.84, while Greencore closed flat at 59 cent, on a day when UK bakery and sandwich retailer Greggs and food group Cranswick released earnings updates indicating difficulty in passing on increased input costs to consumers.

So comprehensive was the rally that fallers were few and far between on the Iseq. However, bookmaker Paddy Power slipped 0.8 per cent to €38.70, on a day when London-listed mobile gambling company Probability released a positive trading update – Paddy Power uses Probability’s online gambling platform.

Pharmaceutical group United Drug led the way in percentage terms with a 7.46 per cent rise to €2.45. Building materials group CRH advanced 6.6 per cent to close of €12.75.