Eircom was by far the most active stock on the Irish market yesterday, amid continued speculation about what price Swisscom might pay for the company.

Close to 23 million shares changed hands in Dublin, with a further 15 million traded in London, as rumours of an offer of as much as €2.70 were bandied about. However, the share price did not reflect such optimism, closing five cent or 2 per cent lower at €2.32.

Fruit importer Fyffes was also in focus yesterday, adding more than 5 per cent at one stage before eventually closing eight cent, or 3.5 per cent, higher at €2.37. Dealers put the gains down to a recovery after the recent heavy sell-off.

DCC turned in another strong performance following Monday's gains of 3.6 per cent. The stock added a further 27 cent or 1.7 per cent to €16.22 in the wake of its positive first-half results.

Ryanair, which lost ground following publication of its interim results on Monday, bounced back by seven cent, or 1 per cent, to €6.83 as analysts maintained their forecasts for the airline.

In the banking sector, Anglo Irish Bank reversed Monday's losses, closing 24 cent or 2 per cent higher at €11.39. Irish Life & Permanent continued its strong run, adding 25 cent or 1.6 per cent to €15.50 amid continued optimism that it would benefit from the end of the SSIA scheme.

But the two leading banks did not fare so well, with AIB up just four cent to €17.30 despite the release of better than expected results by its Polish associate, BZ WBK.

Bank of Ireland lost 16 cent to €12.79. Other movers included Irish Continental Group, which added 20 cent to €10.60. Dollar-sensitive stocks also gained as the euro, fell with CRH adding 10 cent to €22.05 and Kerry up by five cent to €18.45.

Jurys Doyle gave up five cent to €18.80 as property developer Paddy Kelly informed the Irish Takeover Panel that he did not intend to participate in any offer for the company.