European stock markets closed firmer this evening, though falls in bank shares affected the Irish market.
London's FTSE gained 0.1% to 5,711, led by mining stocks, while mobile group Vodafone added 3% to 151p. In Paris, the CAC added 0.3% to 4,001 and in Frankfurt, the DAX rose 0.6% to 6,157.
In Dublin, the ISEQ ended down 55 points (1.7% at 3,158. Banking shares were down sharply ahead of tomorrow's announcements about the future shape of Irish banking. Shares in AIB slumped 19.6% to €1.37, while Bank of Ireland dropped more than 10% to €1.25. Irish Life and Permanent also lost 5.2% to €2.89. Shares in Aer Lingus were up 3.6% to 72 cent ahead of its annual results and outlook for 2010 tomorrow.
On Wall Street, markets were lifted by figures showing another rise in consumer spending. the Dow Jones was up 0.5% to 10,903, while the Nasdaq added 0.6% to 2,408. Tokyo's Nikkei index edged 10 points (0.1%) lower to close at 10,987, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong gained 184 points (0.9%) to end at 21,237.
