Iseq: 2041.49 (+50.20) at 1.50pm:The Dublin market of leading shares followed other European markets into positive territory today with banks and Independent News & Media (IN&M) leading the way.
Shares in Allied Irish were up 8c at 56c at 1.45pm while Bank of Ireland stock rose 5 cent to 29c and Irish Life and Permanent up 1c to 80c.
IN&M, which today announced that chief executive Sir Anthony O'Reilly is to step down in May to be replaced by his son Gavin, saw its share rise 68 per cent or 8c to 17c.
Other movers today included Smurfit Kappa, which rose 9c to €1.37 and insurer FBD which was up 17c to €5.70.
In the construction sector, main player CRH was up 40c at €14.65 while Grafton was up 9c at €1.54.
Aer Lingus, which rallied yesterday after losing up to 30 per cent of its share price on Wednesday following the publication of its 2008 results, was down 5c at 56c while rival Ryanair increased 6c to €2.95.
European stocks were up for a fourth day running by midday , tracking robust gains in the United States overnight on reduced fears over banks and signs of stabilisation in US consumer spending.
In the UK at midday, the FTSE 100 added 1.8 per cent, Germany's DAX gained 1.4 per cent and France's CAC 40 climbed 1.4 per cent.
At 11.35 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 2.4 per cent at 713.58 points.
Additional reporting: Agencies
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