Bank of Ireland's management reshuffle and the amalgamation of its banking operations in Northern Ireland and Britain provided the main focus of interest on the ISEQ yesterday, giving an impetus to the bank's stock ahead of its interim results next week.
In strong buying, Bank of Ireland moved up 29 cents to €7.86 (£6.19) as investors saw the changes as presaging important cost-cutting measures, according to one dealer.
Irish Life & Permanent also continued its recent run on the strength of it being a bidder for Ulster Bank. Irish Life and Permanent moved up the equivalent of 36 cents after a sterling bid of £6.50 (€10.18) was accepted.
Trading was more muted in other financial stocks, with AIB shaving 20 cents to close at €12.05 (£9.49) and Anglo Irish gaining two cents to close at €2.22 (£1.75). Hibernian was five cents off at €6.10 (£4.80).
Eircom edged up two cents closing at €4.01 (£3.16) despite Vodafone taking a knocking in Britain.
Trading was also light among the industrial stocks and CRH was off again, after recovering from the effects of Blue Circle's profit warning last week. It closed 19 cents down at €17.87 (£14.07). Independent lost five cents to close at €4.85 (£3.82) and Smurfit lost four cents to close at €2.51 (£1.98).
The initial fervour over Marlborough revealing that an approach had been made with a view to a possible offer had cooled a little yesterday on the London Stock Exchange where the stock eased back 5p to £2.175 sterling (€3.40). There was no trading in the share on the ISEQ.
