Ryanair stays in the limelight as shares rise by 6%

Dublin ReportRyanair spent another day in the limelight yesterday, with positive reaction to the European Commission's ruling on Charleroi driving shares up to €5.15 in early trade.

The gain was tempered somewhat in the afternoon however, with shares ending the session at €4.95, up 6 per cent on the day.

In the financials, Bank of Ireland had a poor start to the day after NCB revised down its 2005 and 2006 earnings estimates to reflect the bank's UK joint venture. Shares recovered later on however, closing 1.4 per cent stronger at €11.40. The bank said it had bought back 250,000 of its own shares on Monday at €11.264.

AIB fell 13 cents to €13.25 in quieter trade, while Anglo Irish dropped by almost 2 per cent to €13.35. Analysts said Monday's director share purchases should be positive for the bank's price going forward. Irish Life & Permanent drifted, losing 15 cents to close at €13.40.

Elsewhere, CRH rose 15 cents to €17.15 on reasonably low volume. Kingspan continued to display some volatility, with shares falling 13 cents to €4.57.

Grafton dropped by 2 per cent to €5.65 while Heiton outperformed, marking a 10-cent increase to €4.57.

DCC was busier than most as it fell back seven cents to €12.03.

Fyffes, which incurs most of its input costs in dollars, did well as the US currency declined, with shares climbing four cents to €1.74 on solid demand.

Jurys Doyle had a good day, with shares up five cents at €10.50 by the close. The stock has quietly added about 6 per cent since the start of this year.

Greencore was popular in advance of tomorrow's a.g.m., with shares rising four cents to €3.33. IAWS slipped five cents to €9.15 despite upbeat guidance from Wendy's, the parent of its Canadian joint-venture partner.

Waterford Wedgwood rose by almost 4 per cent to 27 cents. The company's broker, Davy, yesterday cut its EPS forecasts on the stock for this year from 1.2 cents to 0.2 cents. Dublin ReportSettlement Day: February 6th