B of I, Anglo steal the show on another strong day

Market Report: The banks were once again the stars of the show in Dublin yesterday as the market outperformed its European peers. Bank of Ireland continued to do well on the back of Wednesday's upbeat a.g.m. statement, with shares finishing 13 cents stronger at €10.71 on good volume. Goldman Sachs has issued a positive note on the stock.

Settlement Day: July 13th

AIB also climbed, gaining six cents to close at €12.37, with dealers reporting some appetite for switching from UK to Irish banks. News of AIB's latest overcharging problem emerged after the market closed.

Anglo was again solid as it climbed 17 cents to €12.87, building on the previous day's gains. Irish Life and Permanent rose by 15 cents to €12.70.

Elsewhere, DCC firmed up after the company delivered a positive statement at its a.g.m. in Dublin. Investors were also heartened by reports that the firm could be interested in buying some of Shell Oil's assets in Britain and Ireland. Shares closed at €14.85, up 25 cents.

C&C gained one cent to reach €2.62 on fairly healthy volume. Dealers reported good interest from international institutions, despite doubts over the strength of the Irish drinks market.

CRH gave up some of the increase notched up after Tuesday's trading update, losing five cents to end the day at €18.00. Grafton edged up by 15 cents to €6.65 as investors took the view that the company would remain in good shape regardless of the result of its takeover approaches to Heiton.

Heiton meanwhile, was quiet as it closed unchanged at €6.50.

Another strong outlook statement from a UK housebuilder helped to support McInerney, which added one cent to finish at €5.23. A late seller knocked Kingspan back by seven cents to €4.80.

IWP was flat at €1.15 in advance of today's full-year results. Analysts at NCB are expecting the figures to be overshadowed somewhat by the "noise" of recent disposals and exceptional charges.