Market Report: Elan was the big story on the stock market again yesterday, losing 1.32 or nearly 25 per cent of its value, to 4 after it announced disappointing results for its key drug, Antegren, in the treatment of Crohn's Disease. Shares in Elan rose by 10 per cent in Dublin ahead of the announcement, on hopes of good news, but fell sharply when it later emerged that the drug failed to meet expectations in late-stage trials.

Settlement Date: July 29th

Ryanair shares were initially hit by news that a French court had ruled that financial aid granted to the airline to establish a service between Strasbourg and London was illegal but later recovered to close five cents higher at 5.85.

The picture among financial stocks was mixed with AIB and Bank of Ireland each losing four cents to 12.75 and 10.26 respectively. Bank of Ireland again confirmed it was active in the market on Wednesday, buying back 500,000 of its own shares at 10.275 each.

However, other financials fared better with Irish Life & Permanent adding 10 cents to 9.80, First Active gaining 10 cents to 4.65 and Anglo Irish closing three cents higher at 8.12.

CRH also edged up, firming by five cents to €15.40, helped by a trading statement from Lafarge. The French group said it expected operating profit before currency effects for the full year to match that of 2002 although the outlook in key markets remained uncertain.

Dealers reported interest in some of the small and mid-cap stocks with Independent News & Media again enjoying decent volume of more than two million shares as the stock nudged up by one cent to 1.75. IFG also added a cent to 0.60 as it saw higher-than-average volume of 2.5 million shares change hands. Other gainers included Heiton, up 10 cents to 3.35, and IAWS, which gained eight cents to €8.03.