ACTIVITY on the Dublin market picked up yesterday. Encouraged by an early rally on Wall Street and a good performance in London, investors returned to the market focusing mainly on the financial and industrial sectors.

The two main banks were in good demand with buyers and sellers both active in the market. Most dealings were in Bank of Ireland, with shares gaining a penny by close of business at 432p sterling. AIB closed unchanged at 322p.

Among the other financials, Anglo Irish Bank gained 1/2p to 61p, Irish Life added 2p to close at 237p while Irish Permanent, slipped 1 1/4p to the sterling equivalent of 398 3/4p.

CRH and Smurfit managed to put in a solid performance in response to a stronger British industrial sector. CRH ended the day up a penny at 616p, while Smurfit added around 3p to close at 174 1/4p sterling.

Second-line stocks were easier with more sellers than buyers around, but no big deals were reported. Clondalkin was unchanged on 511 1/2p. Kingspan continued its good run adding another 5p to close at 380p, while Readymix finished up 3p to 121p

In the food sector, Avonmore continued to trade at 170p, Golden Vale dropped a penny to 66p and Wnterford Foods was unchanged at 93p. Kerry was unchanged on 630p, having slipped 10p in a late deal on Tuesday.

Exploration stocks remained relatively quiet with those traded enjoying mixed fortunes. Dana traded up from 11 1/2p to 13 1/4p, Dragon Oil closed slightly down at just under 1 1/2p while Arcon gained 1 1/2p to 33 1/2p.

The gilt market also strengthened yesterday, particularly in the 10-year area. The 8 per cent bond due in the year 2000 rose 5p to £103.75 to yield 6.84 per cent. The 8 per cent bond due in 2006 rose 20p to £102.70 to yield 7.49 per cent.