Anglo Irish breaches EUR14 for second day in a row

MARKET REPORT: A strong performance from the financials helped to lift the market by almost 1 per cent yesterday, with Anglo Irish Bank once again the leader of the pack as it breached the €14.00 level for the second day in a row.

The bank climbed as high as €14.10 in early trade yesterday, before closing at exactly €14.00, up 20 cents on the day. A positive trading update is expected to emerge from today's annual general meeting.

The other financials traded within relatively tight ranges for most of the day, with Bank of Ireland the busiest of the main players as its shares rose 12 cents to €11.77. AIB gained 18 cents to close at €13.65.

Irish Life & Permanent suffered in the wake of a cautious trading update from UK insurer Prudential. Its shares fell 15 cents to €13.70.

Elsewhere, Ryanair took a big negative swing, with shares dropping as far as €6.95 before closing at €7.02, down 16 cents on the day. Dealers said investors were worried about how the airline's yields were holding up in January.

CRH had a good run on the back of Wednesday's strong US housing numbers, with analysts estimating that residential operations account for about 30 per cent of CRH's US business. It closed 37 cents higher at €17.75 last night.

DCC, currently on the road with investor presentations, added 15 cents to close at €12.00.

Qualceram Shires continued to strengthen amid expectations that the firm is about to begin paying dividends again. Shares in the bathroom group rose five cents to €1.70.

Tullow was solid in London and Dublin, with shares climbing five cents to €1.40 on the Irish market. Fellow exploration firm, Petroceltic (formerly Ennex) jumped by 22 per cent to 4.75p sterling in a generally weak London market.

In Dublin, Elan rose 25 cents to €7.20 on news of disposals.

Paddy Power recovered from its accumulator loss earlier this week, closing at an all-time high of €7.75, up 15 cents on the day.Dublin ReportSettlement Day: January 27th