The arrival of the euro was greeted ecstatically on major European markets. This, together with a new year bulls' charge on Wall Street, drove the Irish market ahead by 1.6 per cent. Dealers said that the introduction of euro-denominated trading had caused few problems and that, if anything, the market benefited from buying interest in the leading stocks from European and American funds.

The prospect for further gains is positive, with the 1.6 per cent rise in the ISEQ paling into insignificance against the 5 per cent gains in Paris, Frankfurt, and Milan. On a price/earnings basis, the Irish market is one of the cheapest in Europe. Dealers said the only risk to the Irish market is if sterling strengthens substantially against the euro.

The main focus of attention was on the large-capitalisation stocks like AIB, Bank of Ireland and CRH, although dealers said that First Active was boosted by the presence of a large buyer.

The biggest gain was by AIB, which closed up 92 cents on #15.92 (£12.54), while Bank of Ireland gained 40 cents to #19.10 (£15.04). CRH was marginally lower on #14.70 (£11.58) on profit-taking, but the share was well-supported at that level. First Active gained 11 cents to #4.55 (£3.58). Fyffes was 13 cents higher on #2.03 (£1.60), ahead of results next week. Kerry gained 18 cents to #11.80 (£9.29) and Ryanair was up 21 cents on #6.30 (£4.96). Smurfit benefited from demand on Wall Street for Smurfit Stone and was up 4 cents on #1.58 (£1.24).

Elsewhere on Wall Street, the march of the bulls - especially on the technology-heavy Nasdaq index - sent Irish share prices well ahead. Esat was trading $23/4 higher as the Irish market closed on $411/4, while other technology shares - with the exception of Iona - were firmer. Iona - after a very good run in December - was trading almost $1 lower, although other software stocks like CBT and Saville were stronger.