Ryanair does well and banks are back in vogue

Dublin Report: Strong volumes traded in leading stocks lifted the ISEQ index of Irish shares 60.09 points to leave it at 5,736.51 at the close of business yesterday.

Low-cost airline Ryanair gained 17 cents to close at €3.99 after investors checked in for 3.8 million shares in Dublin.

The company announced that it had put €4 million aside to meet a possible EU sanction for receiving state aid from Charleroi Airport in Belgium.

But brokers said that investors were drawn by Wednesday's 7 per cent drop in oil prices and rumours that its first half results on Tuesday will reveal good yields from seat sales.

The banks came back into vogue, with 3.3 million AIB shares changing hands in Dublin and a further 1 million in London. The bank closed 18 cent up at €13.83.

Over 2.8 million Bank of Ireland shares traded in Dublin, with another 2.5 million moving in London. The bank added 3 cents to close at €10.86. Brokers said that there was no obvious factor behind the interest in the institutions.

Global building materials group CRH had a good day, gaining 46 cents to close at €19.03, on trades totalling 863,000 shares.

An investors' conference in Dublin on Wednesday sparked some interest in the stock, dealers said.

Brokers matched one big order of 2.5 million shares that helped bring volumes in newspaper and media group Independent News and Media to 5 million.

Despite the activity, it closed unchanged at €2.28. "Once the big order went in, everybody else decided that that was the price," one broker commented.

Telecoms company Eircom was also the focus of activity, with 4 million shares traded to leave it two cents up at €1.64.

Last minute orders totalling 535,000 shares saw bookmaker Paddy Power come with a late run to cross the line 23 cents ahead of its starting price at €10.28.