European stocks advanced for the sixth consecutive trading day today, and the Iseq index was swept upwards in line with its counterparts, gaining 1.4 per cent.
A strong performance by the index bellwether CRH was the main factor behing this uptick. Better-than-expected data out in the US on Friday provided a boost to the cement giant, which traded up 2.2 per cent to €16.68.
CRH's gain helped to offset the effect of the Zoe Group debacle - a group of six Liam Carroll companies sought court protection after ACC Bank demanded repayment of loans totalling €131 million - which weighed on banking stocks.
AIB, which is owed €489 million by the developer, sank as low as €1.57 during the morning session , but recovered after lunch to close up 2 cent at €1.73. Bank of Ireland, owed €113 million, slipped by over one cent to €1.65.
Independent News & Media proved to be by far the biggest loser today. The beleaguered stock fell almost 16 per cent to just over 21 cent in advance of its deadline this Friday to secure an agreement with bondholders.
Uncertainty over the short-term fare outlook and fuel price volatility have been weighing on Ryanair, but the budget airline put in a solid performance yesterday, gaining more than 2 per cent to close at €3.27.
London's FTSE 100 closed at 4,443.62 points, up 54.87 or 1.25 per cent. Frankfurt's DAX index ended at 5,030.15 points, up 51.75 or 1.04 per cent, while in Paris the CAC-40 index closed at 3,270.94 points, up 52.48 or 1.63 per cent.