Following the quiet of the previous day's trading, when the London and New York markets were closed, the Irish Stock Exchange put in a solid day yesterday, with the ISEQ gaining 1 per cent to close at 6,288.45, up 61.97.

The rise was almost entirely accounted for by movement in the pharmaceutical stock Elan, whose weighting accounts for nearly a quarter of the ISEQ Index. It jumped #2.85 to #67.85.

CRH regained some of the ground it lost following some profit-taking last week. Reasonable international interest in the stock helped it to close 28 cents stronger at #20.18.

Financials were relatively flat on a day when decent volumes were traded. AIB was one cent stronger at #12.95, with nearly 360,000 shares changing hands. Bank of Ireland was up five cents to #11.55, with almost 1,500,000 shares traded. Anglo Irish Bank, which saw more than two million shares traded, finished the day at #4.23, a fall of two cents on the day.

Jurys continues to suffer following its ejection from the Morgan Stanley Index, losing 30 cents to close the day at #9.10.

Despite the various bids for Eircom, the telecoms group lost the two-cent gain it made on the previous day. It ended the day at #1.16.

Enjoying good runs yesterday were Green Property, which picked up 18 cents to #7.43; IFG Group, which was 13 cents stronger at #3.50; and Riverdeep, which rose 20 cents to #5.30.