The Iseq bounced today as European equities snapped a recent losing streak.
Today's relief rally came after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke signalled that further stimulus is being considered for the US economy, while investors bet that euro zone leaders may deliver a debt crisis solution at an emergency summit later this week.
Though Irish bonds plunged, the stock market recovered, gaining 0.7 per cent.
Food group Greencore was the stand-out winner of the day, adding more than 14 per cent, or 12.5 cent, to close at €1.00. The stock initially sold off yesterday after the company announced it is to buy British supermarket supplier Uniq. However after looking through the details of the proposed transaction, investors seemed to be taking a reasonably positive view, a broker said.
Grafton Group, which sold off aggressively in the aftermath of its disappointing trading update last week, also got back on track. It gained almost 3 per cent, or eight cent, to €2.90, though it is still some way off recovering all the ground lost in recent sessions.
Origin Enterprises provided some stock-specific news with the announcement that it has bought the fertiliser business of Carrs Milling Industries. However the news came too late in the day for the market to digest it, and the stock finished unchanged at €3.60.
Overall the Iseq index rose 21.05 points to 2,908.19. Across Europe, the UK's FTSE 100 Index jumped 0.6 per cent and France's CAC 40 Index increased 0.5 per cent, while Germany's DAX Index rallied 1.3 per cent.
Additional reporting - Bloomberg