Gains on European bourses coupled with strong performances by market leaders drove the ISEQ up 95 points to 5747.09, a gain of 1.5 per cent.
Heavyweight stock Elan surged 195 cents this morning to euro 54.63 a gain of 3.7 per cent. It was followed into positive territory by Bank of Ireland up 21 cents on euro 10.19 While Anglo Irish Bank was ahead three cents on euro 3.27. However, AIB was off three cents on euro 12.77.
Eircom shares rallied this morning to euro 250, a gain of seven cents while tech stock Horizon shed 20 cents to euro 7.30.
CRH shares rose CRH 18 cents to euro 19.08, Fyffes eased down four cents to euro 1.02 and Jurys eased down 1.5 per cent to euro 9.50. Smurfit shares were down nearly two per cent on euro 2.02.
UK blue chips remained strong around midday, pushing up to their best levels for the session as technology issues returned to favour fuelled by hopes of a fresh rally from the Nasdaq composite index today following last night's bounce, dealers said.
Nasdaq futures indicate around a 20 point early gain from the composite index today, helped by better than expected Q4 numbers after-hours from Compaq last night, although S&P futures point to a flat early performance from the DJIA.