Market report: The Irish stock market closed 0.5 per cent higher as financial shares took the arrival of the Danes in the Irish banking sector and a Competition Authority report in their stride.
The prospect of more competition following the €1.4 billion takeover of National Irish Bank and Northern Bank by Danske Bank, failed to derail the sector's performance.
A report from the Competition Authority saying the banking system was not working well for the consumer also had little impact as most stocks moved ahead.
"The report is a bit of a damp squib," said one trader. "There is nothing in that will have a negative impact on the banks."
Irish Life & Permanent added 40 cent or 3 per cent to €13.60 and Bank of Ireland was up by eight cent to €11.98.
Meanwhile, Anglo Irish edged up by five cent to €17.40 while AIB was unchanged at €14.90.
Other movers yesterday included building materials group CRH, which finished 25 cent higher at €19.75 as more than two million shares were traded.
Readymix, which suffered a sharp fall on Monday in the wake of a profit warning, recovered five cent to €1.75.
Ryanair closed higher, adding 11 cent or 2 per cent to €5.35. Elsewhere in the transport sector, Irish Continental Group, which is still contending with strike action that has disrupted its ferry services, lost five cent to €10.85.
In food, IAWS added a further 20 cent, or 1.7 per cent, to €11.78 in the wake of Monday's €130 million acquisition of France's Groupe Hubert.
Waterford Wedgwood added more than 3.6 per cent to €0.09 as shareholders approved all resolutions at an extraordinary meeting, paving the way for a possible rights issue.
In London, shares in mobile phone giant Vodafone closed nearly 2.5 per cent lower at 139.5 pence sterling, hit by reports that its US partner Verizon is weighing a $40 billion-plus bid for Sprint.
Settlement Day: December 17th
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