February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
Trading on the market was thin, however, as investors wound down for the holidays. Banks powered the index’s rise with AIB up 10 cents to 1,256 with 1.3 million shares traded and Bank of Ireland gained 11c to 1075 with just over a million shares changing hands.
Irish Life & Permanent topped the market’s gainers as shares surged 4.33 percent or 53c to 1,278 as investors resumed buying after a bout of profit taking.
The construction sector made modest gains with CRH up 5c to 1,635, McInerney gained 3c to 473 and Readymix was up 1c to 191.
Low-cost carrier Ryanair regained some of the losses made after European authorities ruled against subsidies granted to the airline by Belgian airport operators. Shares rose 6c to 658. The airline reported that it had to date carried just over two million passengers on the Dublin/London route.
Northern drug maker Galen was down 1c to 1,054 after it said it had been approached by the US competition authorities over its deal with Barr Laboratories on patent rights for Galen’s contraceptive products.