A strong opening on Wall Street helped the ISEQ close 103 points higher at 5,445, a gain of 2 per cent. Irish banks also performed well today after the Bank of England cut interest rates by a quarter of 1 per cent.
The early interest rate-backed rally gained momentum in afternoon trade after a strong opening on Wall Street. US investors were cheered by an upbeat trading statement from Dell which revived the battered technology sector.
In Dublin, Bank of Ireland gained 23 cents to euro 9.33, AIB put on 17 cents to euro 11.37 and Anglo Irish added 8 cents to euro 3.18.
Ryanair posted strong gains, adding 76 cents to euro 10.64 on hopes that the worst of the foot-and-mouth crisis may have passed.
Irish technology firms on the Nasdaq recorded substantial gains this afternoon, Smartforce is up 25 per cent while Iona is 15 per cent stronger.
The tech-laden US index is up 6 per cent so far today on what looks like a relief rally after losing 12 per cent in the previous three sessions this week.
In London the FTSE 100 gained 86.1 or 1.6 per cent to close at 5,621.8 as investors regained confidence after recent waves of profit warnings on the back of a weakening US economy.