World markets soared today, driven by massive gains in the banks after the US government announced a plan to cordon off the debt and toxic investments at the heart of the global credit crunch. News of the bans on short-sellling of financial shares in Ireland and the UK also boosted sentiment.
Dublin's ISEQ index rebounded by 10% to close at 4,136 after a week of heavy losses. The banks all rallied strongly with Bank of Ireland jumping over 37.5% to close at €5.20, while Irish Life and Permanent soared 20% to €6.13 and AIB added 19% to end of €6.23.
Shares in Anglo Irish Bank rose by almost 29% to €5.60 after indications that it is interested in taking over Irish Nationwide Building Society. But despite today's record gains, the ISEQ is still below the 4,345 level it closed at last Friday.
London's FTSE 100 index rose 8.84% to close at 5,311, with shares in Barclays and HBOS jumping 29% each. The Paris CAC 40 jumped over 9%, its largest one-day gain, to end at 4,325, while in Frankfurt, the DAX was up 5.5% at 6,190.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones has gained 4% to stand at 11,463 - up 443 points - while the Nasdaq is up 3.7% to stand at 2,280 - a gain of 81 points. President George W Bush today pledged that the US government was acting to shore up the nation's ailing economy, but he warned taxpayers that they would bear a significant share of the cost.
