AIB and Bank of Ireland both finished down in what was a “fairly erratic” day for the banks, according to one trader. The UK banking sector traded relatively well in the afternoon but the Irish banks did not see this upsurge in what one broker described as another disappointing day for the big two.
The Dublin market of leading shares closed up 6.38 points at 2873.07
AIB finished at €1.67, down by over 10.5 per cent, while Bank of Ireland finished at €1.60 off an earlier low of €1.58, a drop of almost 6 per cent. The main banks’ performance was in stark contrast to Irish Life & Permanent which closed 6.3 per cent ahead.
Elsewhere, airline Ryanair posted an 80 per cent rise in first-half profits but still fell short of the expectations of some analysts. As a result, it fared relatively badly in the morning hitting a low of €2.70 but recovering as the day went to end at €2.90, with one trader citing overseas investment as having played a role.
Explorer Dragon Oil surged by 6.8 per cent after Emirates agreed to buy the shares it doesn't already own in the company. The bid had been expected for some time, the question on one broker’s lips yesterday being whether or not there is any upside left.
Britain's top shares closed 1.2 per cent higher as miners and oil firms rose, underpinned by firmer commodity prices on the back of bullish economic data, while RBS fell as the lender faces asset sales.
The FTSE 100 closed 59.95 points higher at 5,104.50 points, recouping some losses from Friday's 1.8 per cent fall.
European shares closed higher, boosted by better-than-expected U.S. manufacturing and pending home sales data, with commodities and banks the major gainers.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares provisionally closed up 0.3 per cent at 980.28 points. In Frankfurt the DAX index ended at 5430.82 points, up 15.86 or 0.29 per cent while in Paris CAC-40 index closed at 3639.46 points, up 31.77 or 0.88 per cent.