The Irish index of shares fell today, slipping 1 per cent to 3001.53.
Volumes were light as markets wound down for the Christmas period.
After a strong performance yesterday, bank shares gave up some gains throughout the morning, with both major banks trading off.
AIB started strongly ahead of a meeting of shareholders today to decide on proposals for the financial institution to take part in the National Asset Management Agency (Nama). After rising as much as 9 per cent earlier today, the shares fell back to trade down 4.3 per cent to €1.17 this afternoon.
Bank of Ireland was also affected, with its shares losing 6.8 per cent to €1.26. Irish Life and Permanent rose 1 per cent to €3.10.
FBD Holdings was 1.7 per cent off at €6.66.
Heavyweight stock CRH was down 1 per cent to €19.29. The stock yesterday added almost 3 per cent. Local papers reported that its main US materials subsidiary, Oldcastle, had bought a smaller rival, Wheelers, in Texas, which has sales of $200 million a year.
The stock was also buoyed yesterday by positive data from the US and UK housing markets.
European shares were higher at midday, with banks and commodity stocks the major gainers.
By 1122 GMT, the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top shares was up 0.6 per cent at 1,040.52 points, hitting a 14-month high for the second straight day.
The index is up more than 61 per cent since reaching a lifetime low in early March and is 25 per cent higher for the year.
"It is all very Christmas. Volumes are very thin, but it's nice that the markets are drifting up ... (given) ... the ongoing strength of the dollar there is every reason for the markets to be quite nervous," said Jim Wood-Smith, head of research at Williams de Broe.
"That is the one thing that everyone is looking at, whether the long correlation between the equity markets and the dollar is finally breaking down. We are all wondering if we can maintain the happy coincidence of having both the dollar and equities going up simultaneously."
Banks featured among the top movers. Banco Santander, Barclays, HSBC, Standard Chartered and Societe Generale were between 1.1 and 2.3 per cent higher.
Energy stocks were in demand as crude prices edged up 0.4 percent. BG Group, BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total were up 0.6 to 1.3 per cent.
Additional reporting: Reuters