European shares closed higher this evening with banks and commodities taking the lead, but gains were limited as investors worried about the implications of a US plan to pump $1 trillion into the country's economy.
London's FTSE ended 12 points higher at 3,817, with Barclays gaining 17% to 112.5p. In Paris, the CAC rose 0.6% to 2,777, while Frankfurt's DAX gained 1.2% to 4,043.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed 11 points lower at 2,099, with Irish Life & Permanent jumping 15 cent to 90 cent and AIB gaining seven to 59 cent. Shares in Kerry slipped 18 cent to €14.72 despite news that it won a court appeal against a Competition Authority decision to block its proposed deal to buy Breeo Foods. CRH rose three to €15.98 after raising €1.28 billion in a rights issue.
On Wall Street, markets worried that the Fed move risked fuelling inflation. The Dow Jones was down 89 points at 7,398, while the Nasdaq lost nine to 1,482. Earlier, Japanese shares ended lower for the first time in five days, hit by profit-taking and a stronger yen. The Nikkei index slipped 26 points, or 0.33%, to end at 7,946, a day after closing at a five-week high.
