Most European stock exchanges edged higher this evening, buoyed by a rally on Wall Street and gains from commodity stocks, which offset weakness in banks and property issues.
London's FTSE gained 21 points (0.5%) to close at 4,234 while the Paris CAC added seven points (0.23%) to end at 3,021 and the Frankfurt DAX was up 25 points (0.5%) to end the day at 4,506.
But as new revelations emerged about the recently nationalised Anglo Irish Bank, Dublin's ISEQ index closed 37 points lower at 2,308 - down 1.5%. Ahead of their expected recapitalisation, shares in AIB were down 7.5% to €1.08 while Bank of Ireland lost 12.5% to end at 61 cent. Shares in Irish Life and Permanent closed almost 10% lower at €1.94 after it confirmed it had provided 'exceptional support' to Anglo Irish Bank on September 30 last year.
US stocks rose in choppy trade this evening as investors scooped up financial shares which had been beaten down the previous session on worries about a plan to shore up the banking system. The Dow Jones was up 40 points (0.5%) to stand at 7,889 while the Nasdaq added four points (0.25%) to trade at 1,525.
Japanese markets were closed today for a holiday.
