With New York markets closed for the Thanksgiving Day holiday, European markets were generally quiet. But weakness in financial shares was the main factor in a weaker performance in Dublin.

There was sizeable trading in the two main banking stocks - almost two million shares in both AIB and Bank of Ireland traded - and both finished the day lower. Bank of Ireland has been in modest demand since its interim results but profit-taking dragged the share down 23 cents to €8.62, while AIB also lost 23 cents to €12.57. Irish Life & Permanent was 14 cents lower on €12.25.

Among industrials, Eircom was three cents firmer on €3.15. Me rrion has put an "add" tag on the stock and suggested that the non-mobile businesses were worth more as a unit than if they were broken up and sold piecemeal. CRH lost 25 cents to €16.30, while Smurfit lost six cents to €2.12.

The extraordinary collapse in the Fyffes share price shows no sign of being stemmed, and the stock lost another four cents to 72 cents yesterday, in volume of just over one million shares. Independent - under industrial action threat - lost 10 cents to €3.45, while telecoms group ITG was the biggest faller on the day, losing 54 cents to €7.16.

With Nasdaq closed, there was little action in most of the technology stocks. But in London, Baltimore - now almost certain to lose its FTSE-100 status once again - was 3 1/2 pence lower on 352 1/2 pence sterling, while Parthus was 9 1/2 pence lower on 177 1/2 pence sterling.

On the Neuer, Trintech remained weak, despite recent acquisitions, and lost 26 cents to €9.27, while Conduit - set for a big expansion in the UK - was 40 cents firmer on €17.00.