Market Report

The Irish stock market finished broadly unchanged yesterday despite nervousness in international markets as oil prices hit a record high of more than $44 a barrel.

Ryanair was one of the main features of a busy day, as the Irish market caught up after a quiet bank holiday Monday. The shares fell by 4 per cent to a low of €4.24 as concerns about rising oil prices outweighed a good set of first quarter results from the airline before recovering to finish at €4.33, down 1.8 per cent on the day.

Dealers reported good volume in the shares, with seven million shares traded in London and a further two million in Dublin.

The two main banking stocks logged modest gains as rival Ulster Bank issued first half results showing a 35 per cent jump in net interest income to £256 million sterling.

AIB added 10 cents to €12.90, Bank of Ireland was up by six cents to €10.90 although Irish Life & Permanent gave up 21 cents to €12.45 as Ulster Bank said it was adding to its market share in the mortgage market.

Shares in DCC gave up 15 cents, or 1 per cent, to €14.35 as the date was announced for the legal action against it by Fyffes. Shares in the fruit distributor were unchanged at €1.71 as December 2nd was revealed as the date the hearing into the insider trading case will begin.

Shares in Trinity Biotech jumped by 14 per cent on the Nasdaq to a high of $3.10 as the FDA approved the company's herpes test before later giving up ground to $2.84. In Dublin, they were unchanged at €2.28.

Dealers reported good volume in Eircom, as more than five million shares changed hands. The stock was unchanged at €1.43 as the company announced it was refunding more than €400,000 to customers for overcharging.

Heiton shares were up by 20 cents, or more than 3 per cent, to €6.30 as the market waited to see if Grafton would make a fresh move for the company ahead of the Friday deadline set by the Irish Takeover Panel.