The Irish market advanced today as upbeat US corporate earnings sparked a rally on global markets.
Strong earnings from chip maker Intel kick-started markets this morning, and emboldened investors whose nerves had been frazzled by Standard & Poor's shock warning on the US economy on Monday.
Although the Iseq index pared its gains somewhat after an impressive opening, it was still almost 15 points ahead at 2,938 at the closing bell.
CRH advanced for a second consecutive day, after fresh economic data indicated the US non-residential construction sector may trough later this year and then start to recover. Further positive news for the building materials stock came in the form of a trading update from Dutch plastic pipe producer Wavin which showed 22 per cent growth in first quarter revenues. Buoyed by this news, CRH finished almost 2 per cent up, or 30 cent, at €15.83.
Smurfit Kappa moved ahead after UK packaging manufacturer DS Smith released a positive pre-close statement confirming further volume growth and input cost recovery. Smurfit gained more than 3 per cent, or 28 cent, to €9.35.
Elan lost some of the ground made earlier in the week, despite releasing quarter one numbers this morning that were ahead of expectations at an earnings per share level. The pharmaceutical firm said its multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri helped boost the firm in the first three months of the year. Nonetheless it sold off over the day and closed about 1 per cent down at €5.72.
National benchmark indexes climbed in every western European market except Greece and Luxembourg. The UK's FTSE 100 Index gained 2.1 per cent, Germany's DAX Index rallied 3 per cent and France's CAC 40 Index rose 2.5 per cent.
Additional reporting: Bloomberg