BofI attracts support to finish session up over 40%

Iseq: 2,942.04 (+67.33) Settlement Date: April 6thTHE STORY of the Iseq was a tale of banks yesterday, as Bank of Ireland's stock enjoyed support from investors, but Irish Life & Permanent's share price travelled in the other direction.

After its return to the market following its one-day trading suspension, there was high-volume trading in Bank of Ireland, which finished up 41 per cent at 31 cent. This was a rise of 9 cent, on the back of volume of 33.5 million in Dublin, as buyers were attracted to the stock.

Irish Life & Permanent, also back after a 45 per cent plunge on Tuesday, saw its share price further eroded, as investors took a dislike to the findings of the Central Bank stress tests.

A near 59 per cent plummet took it down to a closing price of 16 cent, again on high volume – some 22.5 million shares traded in Dublin.

AIB, which attracts lower trading volumes these days than the other two banks and is no longer quoted in London, managed an 11 per cent climb to 21 cent, a rise of 2 cent.

Overall, the Iseq rose 2.3 per cent, outperforming major European indices such as the FTSE, the French Cac and the German Dax.

The other main stock news of the day related to drinks group CC, which finished up 2.8 per cent at €3.28 on volume of around three million shares in Dublin.

Its ascent followed the release of industry data from AC Nielsen, which showed a strong year-on-year performance for its cider drink Magners in the UK off-trade market, amid an 8 per cent expansion of the cider market in general.

Construction stocks in Europe had a buoyant day, with CRH climbing 2 per cent to €16.50.

Other climbers in the session included IFG, Kerry and Aer Lingus.

The airline, which has had a lacklustre run of late, posted a 3.6 per cent climb to 74 cent.