The Dublin marked edged ahead just slightly yesterday, gaining 0.14 per cent in reasonably quiet trading.

The main banks ended down but displayed greater resilience than their British counterparts, which remained weak after Monday's unexpected profit warning from insurer, Britannic.

AIB closed five cents lower at €13.65, while Bank of Ireland ended at €10.30, down 10 cents. Dealers questioned the Irish banks' ability to remain strong in the face of international trends.

First Active also closed down yesterday, shedding five cents to reach €5.55, while Anglo Irish ended at €6.86, also down five cents.

Irish Life and Permanent managed to head in the opposite direction, reversing early losses to close up 1 cent at €10.60.

Ryanair saw the second-heaviest volume on the day, with almost 2.3 million shares traded. The stock performed well in light of uncertainty of higher-fare competitors such as KLM, gaining two cents to reach €7.17.

The largest volume was recorded in small mining stock, Arcon, in which 2.3 million shares changed hands. Arcon closed unchanged at five cents, the level at which trade was heaviest.

News on the day was provided by Jurys Doyle, which lost five cents to close at €7.15 after unveiling interim results. Pharmaceutical firm, Galen was weaker, shedding 89 cents to reach €6.60 upon patent concerns.

Sectoral bedfellow Elan rose on the back of the appointment of a former Merrill Lynch executive Mr G Kelly Martin as chief executive, gaining 20 cents to end at €2.95.

Elsewhere, CRH performed strongly before closing up 27 cents at €12.40, while Waterford Wedgwood lost two cents to end at 45 cents after Tiffany issued a profit warning in the US.