Pre-Thanksgiving activity on the other side of the Atlantic meant it was a quiet day's trading on the Dublin market this afternoon, with very little newsflow influencing share price movements one way or the other.
The Iseq index of Irish shares finished flat, up 7 points on its closing level yesterday, which itself had been a flat day.
After a spate of calamitously weak trading sessions in recent months, rollercoaster-weary investors will probably settle for flat and quiet, and with many of the US players taking a four-day Thanksgiving hiatus from tomorrow, it looks set to remain that way until next week.
But while the US influence on the fortunes of the Iseq subsides for a temporary period, local events may take centre-stage as a frantic series of dialogues develops between bankers, Government officials and private equity interests.
Irish Life & Permanent was the bank that attracted the highest volume of trading today, with its share price finishing up 10.5 per cent at €1.36 and more than five million shares exchanging hands.
Bank of Ireland also posted a double-digit percentage gain, rising more than 13 per cent to €1.38.
The other financial stocks were more subdued, with AIB closing up 3 per cent at €2.40 and Anglo Irish Bank finishing down more than 4 per cent at 88 cent.
Figures from HM Revenue & Customs showed that UK cider sales were flat in the third quarter compared with the same period last year, which wasn't good news for cider group C&C, which fell 7.7 per cent to €1.26.
It was also a weak day for food group Greencore, which lost 12 per cent to close at a price of 92 cent.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/irishtimes/f20d5c24-63d4-4695-af0b-810d00c65b6d.png)