The two big banks were the main focus of attention on the Irish market with Bank of Ireland achieving the distinction of knocking AIB off its number two position in the market's pecking order.
The banks went in opposite directions yesterday with AIB down 24 cents on €11.76 while Bank of Ireland gained 30 cents to €10.50 - just short of its €10.70 high.
While there was about 2.5 million of both shares traded, dealers said there was only an element of switching between the two stocks. There were still buyers of Bank of Ireland at its closing level while AIB shares were well offered at their closing €11.76.
They added that Bank of Ireland was seen as more attractive at the moment because of its higher exposure to the Irish economy while AIB was now deriving a majority of its earnings from non-Irish markets where margins may come under pressure.
Irish Life was also in demand and closed 21 cents higher on €13.15 while Anglo Irish was unchanged but well-bid at its overnight €3.80.
Speculation of a Dermot Desmond involvement in a counter-bid to that from Denis O'Brien's eIsland helped Eircom to recover from its recent low and the shares dealt up 12 cents to €2.50 with almost 2.4 million shares trading.
A slight improvement by Vodafone also helped Eircom but Vodafone shares still remained very weak.
A clutch of buy recommendations from NCB, Warburg and Schroder Salomon helped Smurfit to move three cents higher to €2.00, but the shares are unlikely to break out of their current low trading range until there is clear evidence that key product prices are being maintained by the packaging industry.
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