The ISEQ rose along with the European tide yesterday, with gains fairly evenly spread across the board.

CRH was the main exception, as continuing reaction to its muted trading update pushed shares down by eight cents to €19.75. C&C also suffered a touch, shedding three cents to finish at €2.92.

The story was mostly positive elsewhere, with the financials performing better than most and posting healthy volumes.

AIB added 15 cents to close at €15.40, while Bank of Ireland climbed six cents to €12.34. Anglo did better again, as it rose by 40 cents to €18.90.

Irish Life and Permanent added 28 cents to close at €14.50.

Elsewhere, Fyffes was an outperformer as it rose by 10 cents to €1.98. DCC also gained ground, moving up by 10 cents to €16.75. The court case between the two firms is due to resume on Tuesday.

Eircom saw some of the heaviest trade of the day, with four million shares changing hands. The stock gained five cents to finish at €1.85.

Jurys was again a positive mover as it rose by 30 cents to €12.80. Speculation continues to float around the hotel group's future plans for its Berkeley Court property. Ryanair had a good day as it moved up seven cents to €5.65.

Paddy Power held firm after Merrion reduced its forecasts on the firm to reflect a positive punter performance at Christmas races. Shares in the bookmaker climbed by 10 cents to €10.80.

Abbey recovered some ground after being hit in the wake of its results earlier in the week. The housebuilder closed at €7.86, up 11 cents.

Greencore put in a solid performance on news that European sugar consolidation could be starting in the Netherlands, gaining 11 cents to close at €3.18.

The real winner on the day, however, was Grafton, which celebrated Competition Authority clearance for its Heiton acquisition by posting a climb of 48 cents to €8.60.