Industrial stocks were the star performers on the stock market with CRH, in particular, shooting up by 6.5 per cent in the wake of strong first-half results.

The building materials company recorded a 46 per cent increase in profits before tax and extraordinary items to €158 million (£124 million) in the first six months of the year. The results were above market expectations and are certain to lead to upgrades in full-year forecasts.

"They were a fantastic set of figures and show that those who moved out of financials into industrial stocks were right," said one dealer.

CRH shares closed €1.30 (£1.02) higher at €21.20 (£16.70), after hitting their highest levels to date this year.

Kerry Group's first-half results, which showed a 23 per cent increase in profits to €59.4 million (£46.8 million), were also welcomed in the market where the share price closed 15 cents higher at €11.60 (£9.14).

Elsewhere, however, things were a little more subdued with financial stocks generally mirroring the weaker trend overseas. In London, shares closed two per cent lower in response to the recent weakness on Wall Street while the Dow received a setback following the premature release of influential purchasing managers data.

In Dublin, AIB lost 44 cents to close at €12.23 (£9.63), Bank of Ireland finished eight cents lower at €8.57 (£6.75) while Irish Life & Permanent was down five cents at €9.80 (£7.72).

Independent News & Media, which announced details of its planned £40 million printing plant in west Dublin, was just two cents higher at €4.62 (£3.64). Kingspan had a good day, boosted by the CRH figures, gaining 23 cents to €2.75 (£2.17) ahead of its first-half results tomorrow.