US shares rose higher today with investors buoyed by comments from Federal Reserve policymakers and healthy results from Cisco Systems.
The Dow Jones was up 0.5% at 13,571.53 and the Nasdaq was up 1.6% at 2,602.17 as European markets closed.
Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.4%, Germany's DAX gained 1.2% and France's CAC 40 climbed 2.3%.
In London, Alliance & Leicester were one of today's big winners, gaining 6% to finish at 1105 pence. British Energy fell 2.2% to 474 pence.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed up 271 points at 8894.
The financial heavyweights fared well. AIB rose 70c to €20.35, while Bank of Ireland gained 51c to €14.67.
Elsewhere, pharmaceutical company Elan rose 40c to €13.81, while low-budget airline Ryanair was up 22c to €5.96.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei average rose 0.64% or 107 points to 17,029.
