Dublin report:The Iseq index of Irish shares had its first positive close in five days yesterday as a surge in interest in the banks helped push the index up 1.4 per cent.

This gain added €1.4 billion back on to the index's value, helping it claw back some of the €4.2 billion it lost on Monday.

Anglo, Monday's biggest loser, was yesterday the star performer, jumping 6.2 per cent, to end the day up 72 cent, at €12.35.

More than 14 million shares changed hands as dealers said the low prices had helped bring the Irish banks back into focus.

Bank of Ireland was also in demand, with 13 million shares trading, although the stock lost 0.9 per cent, or 10 cent, to close at €11.25.

Meanwhile, AIB fared slightly better, ending the day marginally ahead, up 10 cent, at €16.38 on 10 million trades, while Irish Life & Permanent closed half a per cent higher, up 8 cent, at €14.93.

Another piece of good news was CRH. The building materials group which climbed 4.6 per cent, or €1.24, to close at €27.94.

The company's shares were badly hit badly on Monday despite revealing what dealers described as a potentially fantastic earnings-enhancing acquisition. One Dublin dealer said that yesterday investors were starting to take notice of company-specific news, rather than simply reacting to what was going on elsewhere in the macro economy.

Dealers said Independent News & Media disappointed, closing more or less unchanged at €3.13 despite reporting a 4.5 per cent increase in interim operating profits.

Ryanair was also unchanged, but volume was high, with 8.2 million shares changing hands. The company revealed it had been back in the market spending at least €17 million buying 3.5 million of its own shares.