The Irish stock market made further gains, adding 2.4 per cent to its value to creep back above the 5,000 level, as international stock markets rebounded.

"There's an element of marking up of stocks because of the quarter end but there is also some money going back into shares," one dealer noted.

The 115-point gain in Dublin was led by the two large banks and pharmaceutical group Elan, which accounts for a quarter of the index. It rose by 3.8 per cent, or €2.00, to €54.50 as investors moved into sectors seen as insulated from the economic downturn. Northern Irish drug-maker Galen also benefited from such sentiment, jumping by 12.3 per cent to €10.33 on top of a 4.6 per cent gain in the previous session.

Meanwhile, AIB added 2.9 per cent, or 28 cents, to €9.87 while Bank of Ireland gained 1.9 per cent, or 16 cents, to €8.71.

Industrial holding group DCC bought back two million of its own shares, representing 2.33 per cent of its share capital, at a total cost of €18.5 million. Its share price rose by 10 cents to €9.40.

Grafton Group had a busy day, selling 300,000 Treasury shares in the market at a price of €2.90 per share. It also announced that it had raised its stake in rival Heiton Holdings to 22.5 per cent.

The group ended 15 cents higher at €3.05 but Heiton stock fell by three cents to €2.75.

Greencore was another loser on the day, shedding 6.5 per cent, or 16 cents, to €2.30 after issuing a negative trading statement.

Tourism stocks generally suffered although Ryanair bucked the trend, to end 7 per cent, or 60 cents, higher at €8.97.