The Dublin market finished slightly ahead last night after tailing performances in both Britain and the US in the course of the day. A negative tone was set in early trading by a profit warning from British life assurance company, Britannic, but a confident opening from the US in the afternoon managed to dominate in the end, dragging the Irish exchange up by 0.55 per cent.

Settlement Day: January 9th

AIB was the most impressive performer, gaining 25 cents to close at €13.70 as about 1.2 million shares were traded. Bank of Ireland received significantly more attention, ending 15 cents higher at €10.40 after almost 2.5 million shares changed hands.

In other financials, First Active came under some pressure from profit-takers, losing 15 cents to close at €5.60. Irish Life & Permanent also had a poor day, ending 31 cents lower at €10.59.

Elsewhere, Ryanair shed some of last week's gains as investors reacted to a profit warning from Dutch airline, KLM. The Irish company closed down eight cents at €7.15, but dealers were predicting the slump would be short-lived.

Waterford Wedgwood lost four cents to reach 47 cents in the wake of last week's poor sales figures from US retailer, Home Depot.

CRH fared better, gaining 18 cents to close at €12.13 in light of a positive statement from British concrete manufacturer, Marshalls.

In a range of housekeeping announcements, Grafton Group informed the market that Prudential no longer owned a notifiable holding in the company, while Abbey said Jupiter Split Trust had acquired almost 4 per cent of its share capital.

IFG said Fidelity had increased its shareholding from 10.91 to 11.8 per cent.