BANK STOCKS did well yesterday and pulled the Iseq up so that it outperformed most of its European rivals yesterday.

Anglo Irish had by far the best outing, finishing the day up 7.16 per cent.

Market traders said the rise may have been prompted by news reports at the weekend of property developers' intentions to support the institution. Anglo closed at €8.68.

AIB closed the day with a gain of 2.25 per cent, at €13.65 while Irish Life & Permanent finished 1.56 per cent ahead at €11.07.

Bank of Ireland bucked the trend as it disclosed that its stolen laptop debacle was worse than had been originally reported. That did nothing for sentiment and the shares fell 0.56 per cent to close on €8.92.

Another of the leading stocks to do well was Elan which ended the day 3.58 per cent stronger at €17.05.

Dragon Oil's share price ended the day up 3.42 per cent, at €6.65. The company is now the eighth largest on the Dublin market in terms of market capitalisation, and traders said the share price rise is being driven by the rising cost of oil.

Tullow Oil finished the day up 3.73 per cent, at €9.73, a rise which traders emphasised had nothing do with the announcement that chief financial officer Tom Hickey is to step down.

Traders were united in their praise for Mr Hickey and the role he has played in the development of the company.

The rising oil prices driving Dragon Oil are less welcome for airlines and Aer Lingus finished the day 3.63 per cent weaker on €1.89.

However, Ryanair's share price remained on the runway despite the announcement of increases in its check-in and baggage charges. The stock ended the day at €2.78, a very slight rise on the day.