Financial sector gains as investors move on

Dublin ReportSettlement Day: July 13thThe market clawed back the bulk of Thursday's losses yesterday, as investors chose to move on from the London bomb blasts.

The financial sector managed to post decent gains, with AIB rising by 26 cent to €17.64 and Bank of Ireland adding 10 cent to close at €13.40.

Irish Life & Permanent was unchanged at €14.30, while Anglo Irish was the only bank to move lower, having been the only one to rise amid Thursday's declines. It ended the session at €10.30, down five cent.

CRH did better, climbing 20 cent to €21.55 on reasonable volume, having received a boost from strong US residential construction numbers. Building materials group Kingspan also did well, strengthening by six cent to end the session at €10.11. The firm is expected to benefit from London's success in winning the 2012 Olympic bid. Grafton moved in the opposite direction, falling 10 cent to €8.90.

It was a quiet day for corporate news, with an agm statement from C&C providing one of the only highlights. The firm said it would meet expectations for the year but gave little guidance on the rollout of Magners in Britain. The firm's shares fell by nine cent to €3.76.

Ryanair, which was one of the hardest-hit stocks on Thursday, also gained back some of its losses. The airline rose by 10 cent to €6.40 on good volume, despite continuing concerns over oil prices.

In London, Tullow gained ground as oil prices held strong. The firm added 4.75p to finish at 195.5p sterling. Merrion yesterday raised its target on the stock to 250p on the basis of revised forecasts. Back in Dublin, Eircom added three cent to close at €1.77 as investors considered yesterday's deadlines for bids for mobile firm, Meteor.

Abbey was also on the rise, gaining 11 cent to finish at €9.74. The firm will report full year results next Thursday, with NCB expecting a 5 per cent drop on 2004 reported earnings.

McInerney rose by three cent to €8.33.