In what was otherwise a sea of green, Bank of Ireland was among the weakest names on the day. Shares in the lender fell by slightly more than 1 per cent to €9.30 per share while AIB was essentially flat on the session at €4.02.
Media and technology stocks led gains with most sectors in the green amid a busy day of earnings and following the latest ECB’s rates decision. Banks, meanwhile, held on to gains despite the ECB’s decision to stop paying interest on minimum reserves, a surprise move that saw some lenders, like Deutsche Bank, plunge. BBVA, BNP Paribas and ING Groep, among others, all advanced by between 0.6 per cent and 2 per cent.The benchmark FTSE 100 eked out a modest 0.2 per cent gain on Thursday while the mid-cap FTSE 250 index was in advance of around 0.5 per cent.
NatWest, the bank at the centre of the Nigel Farage imbroglio, slipped a further 0.8 per cent in trading after Coutts chief executive Peter Flavel announced his resignation amid a widening scandal. A measure of big banks rose even after US regulators unveiled plans for a 19 per cent boost in capital requirements for the eight largest financial institutions.