Grafton was the clear star of the market yesterday, with the shares jumping more than 5 per cent after bumper half-year results and in the expectation of substantial upgradings of full-year profits and earnings forecasts.

Although trading volumes in the shares were light, they jumped €1 to a high for the year of €20.50 (£16.15) although they are still well off last year's all-time high of €24.44. The main interest in Grafton in the months ahead will be on its stake-building in Heiton; stake-building that most in the market believe will lead to a merger of the two groups, with Grafton as the senior partner.

Otherwise, it was a typical summer day's trading in Dublin, with modest rises and gains the order of the day. The index closed marginally higher with advances by AIB and Bank Of Ireland being largely countered by losses in CRH and Smurfit.

The absence of any clear direction from international markets was the main reason for yesterday's indifferent showing.

Among the financials, AIB continued to improve and closed up 11 cents on €12.70 (£10.00). Bank of Ireland, which has lagged its main rival in recent trading, finally recovered some ground, closing up 12 cents on €8.40 (£6.62). First Active - soon to launch an internet mortgage business in Britain - was five cents higher on €3.20 (£2.52).

Leading industrials were largely weaker, with profit-taking dragging CRH 15 cents lower to €19.60 (£15.44), while Smurfit lost seven cents to €2.70 (£2.13). Telecom - upgraded from a "sell" to a "hold" by Dolmen - was three cents firmer on €4.34 (£3.42).

Food stocks were firmer with IAWS jumping 12 cents to €3.80 (£2.99) and even out-of-favour Greencore gaining 10 cents to €3.20 (£2.52.