The Irish index of shares was trading marginally off this afternoon, as gains in banks were offset by some weakness in other heavyweight shares.
The Iseq fell 12.01 points to 3,059.51 by 1.22pm.
Bank of Ireland rose 6.3 per cent in the day's trade to €1.62, while AIB added 1 per cent to €1.52 by early afternoon.
Irish Life and Permanent rose 1.3 per cent to 3.45. Traders had earlier speculated on Irish Life and Permanent's involvement in a so-called third-force in banking, with one broker saying the involvement of Permanent TSB could strengthen the entity and help address EU competition concerns.
Glanbia was also trading up, following a trading statement that said it expected to return to earnings growth in 2010. It said earnings per share would be in the region of 30 to 31 cent, in line with expectations
Builders' merchant Grafton also saw its shares rise, adding 1.6 per cent to €3.19. The company said today that the stabilisation seen in the first of the year had continued into the second half. However, turnover still fell 26 per cent compared with a year earlier.
Analysts said there was little to surprise in the statement, and noted emerging signs of stability.
Kingspan was also trading up, rising 2.4 per cent to €6.40.
However, index heavyweight CRH was down 1.7 per cent to €18.42. Davy stockbrokers today upgraded its full year 2010 earnings per share forecast for the group from 103.2 cent to 107.1 cent, with 2011's forecast raised to 138.9 cent 131.9 cent . The represents the second upgrade to the stock's forecasts in five months.
Meanwhile, Greencore fell 1.8 per cent to €1.40, and C&C dipped 1.4 per cent to €2.93.
