The market followed up its rally on Monday with a strong performance yesterday reflecting a general sense of confidence in the economy. The ISEQ index finished at 4,821.45, driven up over 1.7 per cent higher during the day's trading.
The major mover of the day was CRH which benefited from the announcement of huge infrastructure projects in the National Development Plan. The share added €1.34 to finish at €18.60 (£14.65).
The general mood of optimism was probably garnered by investor's acceptance of yesterday's National Development Plan and the belief that economic growth would continue, according to one analyst.
This sentiment was reflected by the strong performance of the financials which rose over 3.75 per cent on the day. AIB finished up 71 cents on the day at €13.16 (£10.36) while Bank of Ireland climbed 26 cents to €8.79 (£6.92) illustrating that Northern Rock's entry into the domestic market has lifted sentiment. Against the trend, Irish Life & Permanent ended down five cents at €9.95 (£7.84).
After the big gains posted by Eircom shares on Monday, yesterday the stock traded in a band between €4.39 (£3.46) and €4.25 (£3.35) before finally settling unchanged at €4.30 (£3.39) ahead of tomorrow's half-year results. Elsewhere Ryanair continued to ascend finishing up 50 cents at €10.10 (£7.95), James Crean recovered slightly rising from 38 cents (30p) to 40 cents (32p) at close of trading while Kerry lost some of Monday's gains falling back five cents to €11.70 (£9.21). Elan shed €1.90 to close at €22.35 (£17.60).
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