The “outright panic” on markets yesterday has been reversed, “at least for the time being”, a Dublin broker reported today.
Bank of Ireland delivered the star performance on a day that saw the Iseq index regain almost 4 per cent and outpace European equities.
The bank’s ordinary stock had been trading up about 10 per cent for most of the day but a high close meant that it gained about 20 per cent over the session, bringing it to 80 cent.
The backdrop of rebounding European markets was thought to have boosted the bank.
According to one broker, it also seems that an “exhaustion point” has been reached in terms of investors selling their ’nil-paid’ shares, which entitle them to buy discounted ordinary shares under the bank’s rights issue. This is believed to have contributed to today’s gains.
Elsewhere in the financials, AIB also put in a strong performance, adding 9 per cent to close just below €1.00.
Cyclical plays also got a decent lift, with names like CRH, Ryanair and Aer Lingus all recording strong gains.
Cement giant CRH broke through the €18.00 mark at one point. Although it had slipped back to €17.78 by the close, it was still up almost 4 per cent over the session.
Rival airlines Ryanair and Aer Lingus added almost 6 and 9 per cent respectively, bringing them to €3.26 and 71 cent.
C&C and Greencore both had decent numbers out on Tuesday but failed to get much traction due to the widespread sell-off on stock markets that day.
However both names were lifted today, with the cider producer rising about 3.5 per cent to €3.32, while the convenience food group gained more than 5 per cent to €1.28.
Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100, Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 ended the day between 1.6 and 2.3 per cent higher.
Additional reporting Reuters