Market Report:A strong overnight finish by international markets got the Irish market off to a good start yesterday and, by the end of the day, the Iseq Index had regained over 100 points to finish the week at 9,703.68.

M&A activity in the British banking sector appeared to spark a renewed interest in Irish financials. Allied Irish Bank was lifted 2.76 per cent, or 61 cent, by a wave of positive investor sentiment to finish at €22.70. Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish Bank also had a good run, gaining 15 cent each, to close out at €16.55 and €16.40 respectively.

Having outperformed when other players in the financial sector struggled in recent weeks, Irish Life & Permanent was one of the few underperformers yesterday, dropping by 16 cent to €20.80.

Meanwhile, in the airline industry, Aer Lingus's latest traffic data went down well with investors, and it closed up 2.26 per cent at €3.17, on light volume.

Ryanair had another good day, gaining 1.12 per cent, or seven cent, bringing its share price to €6.33.

The construction sector also finished the week on a high note, with Grafton Group leading the pack. Its share price has been under pressure recently, but the group's roadshow this week appears to have had the desired impact, and it closed up 2.23 per cent, or 25 cent, yesterday at €11.45.

CRH saw some good action yesterday - almost six million shares changing hands - on the back of US peer Martin Marietta's raised guidance. This pushed it up 42 cent to finish €32.46.

Following a slight pullback, Smurfit Kappa regained its upward momentum yesterday, boosted by good news on container board prices. It closed the day at €20.05, an increase of 40 cent.