Dublin reportRecords were the buzzword in the Irish market yesterday on what was a very positive day for exchanges around the world.

CPL Resources, C&C and IAWS all hit records, helping the Iseq to yet another closing high as the FTSE also continued its recent gains to end the day at its highest level for 5½ years.

Recruitment group CPL added 50 cent, or 10.2 per cent, to end the day at €5.40 after the company issued a trading update after the close of the market on Tuesday saying that its results for the six months to the end of December would exceed forecasts as a result of strong growth in all sectors. Elsewhere, drinks and snacks maker C&C and food group IAWS continued their recent good runs, C&C benefiting from the ongoing confidence in the performance of the group's Magners cider in the UK and IAWS attracting continued attention following the announcement of its most recent US acquisition earlier in the month.

C&C closed up 13 cent, or 1 per cent, at €12.60, after touching €12.78 earlier in the day, while IAWS climbed as high as €17.39 before falling back to close at €17.25, up 45 cent, or 2.7 per cent, on the previous close.

The financials put in a mixed performance, with Irish Life & Permanent picking up a bit as dealers said that the recent selling spree boosted the stock's attraction. The shares rose 22 cent, or 1.2 per cent, to close at €19.17.

Aer Lingus was relatively quiet, with only 1.3 million shares trading even as one of the pilots' groups told the stock exchange that it had bought more shares, increasing its stake to 1.8 per cent. The stock closed up 1 cent, at €2.84.

Elan was one of the few newsmakers in the Dublin market, but the results produced mixed sentiment, leaving the shares down 12 cent at €11.98.