MARKET REPORT:THE ISEQ index of Irish shares closed at 4,446.32, up 91.70 points or 2.11 per cent, making it one of the better performers in Europe yesterday.
Nevertheless, it was a volatile day, with share prices fluctuating wildly. Early gains were wiped out by lunchtime as weakness in UK banking and building stocks spilled into the Dublin market.
However, an afternoon rally, in line with many other European markets, saw the Iseq surge into positive territory.
The catalyst for the turnaround was better-than-expected results and an increased dividend from US regional bank Wells Fargo. This led to a rally in global banking stocks, and Irish banks, which had been under pressure in the morning, were no exception.
All four banking stocks reversed morning losses.
Irish Life Permanent, which had been down 10 per cent at one stage, rallied strongly and ended the day 5.65 per cent stronger as it added on 23 cents to €4.30.
Bank of Ireland, which had seen 3 per cent knocked of the value of its shares in the morning, surged more than 8 per cent in the afternoon as it closed 37 cents stronger at €4.89.
Anglo Irish Bank was up more than 7 per cent, tacking on 29 cents to €4.37, while AIB advanced a more modest 2.54 per cent, with its share price 18 cents stronger at €7.28.
Oil fell back more than $4 a barrel after a US government report showed an unexpected increase in inventories. This helped spur European markets further, with airlines benefiting most. Ryanair saw its share price surge by more than 6 per cent to €2.93.
Among the fallers on the day was construction giant CRH. Its shares traded as low as €14.05 at one stage, but closed the day at €14.65, a 24 cent drop on yesterday.
