Dublin Report: Ireland's benchmark index closed little changed yesterday as gains in food manufacturer IAWS and Irish Life & Permanent offset declines in Bank of Ireland and building materials group CRH.

The Iseq Overall Index edged up 5.89 points, or 0.1 per cent, to close at 7,507.18, a 13-day high.

Traders described the volume of shares traded on the Irish market as "low" although they pointed out that the Iseq still outperformed many larger European counterparts, including the FTSE 100.

Bank of Ireland shares dropped 20 cent, or 1.4 per cent, to €13.80, while CRH dipped 15 cent, or 0.6 per cent, to finish the day at €25.20. Shares of Irish Life climbed 25 cent, or 1.4 per cent, to €18.05, and IAWS shares rose 35 cent, or 2.5 per cent, to €14.50.

Shares of companies due to release results today also posted gains.

Elan rose 17 cent, or 1.5 per cent, to €11.72, ahead of today's second-quarter earnings report. Allied Irish Banks (AIB) climbed nine cent, or 0.5 per cent, to €18.93.

Goodbody analyst Eamonn Hughes says AIB will report a 16 per cent increase pretax profit to €987 million in the first half. The bank revised up its full-year forecast in May, changing its guidance to "mid-to-high teens" growth in per-share earnings from an earlier forecast of "low double-digit" growth.

Ryanair is also expected to release strong earnings today. Analysts at NCB have pencilled in a 74 per cent surge in first-quarter earnings per share at the carrier from the same period a year earlier.

Ryanair is likely to have benefited from faster passenger growth and tight control on costs, NCB said.

Shares of exploration group Ovoca Gold, which is listed on the IEX small companies market, jumped 1 cent, or 8.3 per cent, to 13 cent after the company announced a reshuffle of its board. Ovoca named company secretary John O'Connor as chief financial officer after Danesh Varma resigned.