Iseq: 3,347.33 (+7.16) Settlement date: October 5th

THE LAST session of the third quarter saw a healthy volume of shares traded in Dublin yesterday, with the Iseq remaining firm as other European markets fell marginally in the afternoon on the back of a negative purchasing managers index report from the US.

Bank of Ireland was the most traded stock yesterday and the star performer for the second consecutive day, with one trader noting significant international investor interest. A late surge pushed the stock 15 cent higher, to close at €3.42, a gain of just over 4.5 per cent.

AIB, which was trading as high as €3.36 at one stage during the session, finished the day at the lower end of the scale, closing marginally lower at €3.21.

Irish Life Permanent saw less investor activity, ending the day 5 cent off at €5.62.

Independent News Media’s share price continued to slide as markets digested the proposed debt-for-equity solution to its outstanding €200 million debt problem. It closed the day almost 15 per cent lower at 20 cent, a fall of 3.5 cent.

Construction-related stocks had a mixed day. Building materials group Grafton advanced more than 2 per cent to close at €3.88, following strong third quarter results from British building group Travis Perkins.

Grafton’s solid performance was matched by insulation company Kingspan, which gained 15 cent, or 2.4 per cent on the day. Iseq heavyweight CRH was off 14 cent on the day finishing at €18.91.

Exploration company Providence Resources reversed losses earlier in the day to end the session flat at €0.47, after the company reported an increase in pretax losses in the first six months of the year.

CC continued to see a lot of investor attention ahead of results next week. It closed just over 3 per cent higher at €2.89.