Market Report: A better performance from financial stocks helped underpin the index as Ryanair took a breather after Monday's rally.

AIB gained 18 cents to €15.43, Bank of Ireland was up by 15 cents to €12.25, while Anglo Irish Bank gained two cents to €18.72, despite earlier evidence of profit-taking.

After a poor performance on Monday, Irish Life & Permanent also bounced back to close the day 35 cents, or 2.6 per cent, higher at €14.10.

Independent News & Media also regained ground after a poor start to the week, finishing at €2.28, a gain of eight cents or 3.6 per cent on the day.

Dealers said it was helped by reports of a strong recovery in the newspaper advertising market last year.

Other strong performers included drink and snacks group C&C, up six cents to €3.30, and Jurys Doyle, which closed 15 cents higher at €13.25 amid ongoing speculation about its plans for its land in Ballsbridge.

There was good volume in Eircom, with around 3.5 million shares traded, although the stock remained unchanged at €1.85.

In Dublin, Elan shares gained €1.31 or 6.6 per cent to €21.31 as the stock caught up on the gains made in New York in recent days. The share price had added 52 cents, or 1.9 per cent, in the US to $27.45 by the Irish close.

Fyffes also had a decent day, adding three cents or 1 .5 per cent to €2.03.

After Monday's burst of activity in Ryanair shares, trading calmed down with 5.6 million shares changing hands as the stock lost three cents to €6.27.

Among the smaller cap stocks, 3.6 million Readymix shares were traded, well above the daily average volume of 100,000 shares, as the share price jumped by 25 cents or 13 per cent to €2.15. However, dealers said the deal simply involved an institutional buyer who had to pay up to get hold of the tightly held stock.

Settlement Day: February 4th