Market Report - Dublin

The Dublin market fell back a little in late afternoon yesterday as Wall Street sank in early US trading.

Most of the major industrials and banking stocks finished the day as offered and dealers said volumes were very low with few bids.

The bank holiday weekend also kept activity dampened as many left their desks by lunchtime.

Among the few bids were Green Property, Fyffes, Heiton, Grafton and Kingston.

Dealers said there was also very little domestic activity to drive the market.

AIB Investment Managers sold part of its shareholding in Crean as its holding has fallen below 10 per cent.

The financials gained ground on the back of firmer bond markets across Europe. AIB, at 528p sterling, was up almost 5p from a previous close at 585p, while Bank of Ireland closed at 858p from 768p sterling. Irish Life put on 4p to close at 369p while Irish Permanent put on 10p to close at 660p.

CRH gained 5p to close at 820p while Smurfit lost 5p to close at 217p.

Fyffes closed at 103p from 102p a day earlier, while Heitons closed flat on 193p.

Dealers said Monday's activity will depend on Wall Street's finish. The market was down 90 points at the Irish close. "The problem is the recovery on Thursday night could have been a dead cat's bounce," one dealer quipped.

Bonds, on the other hand, ended the session in positive territory as US Treasuries rallied.