The Dublin market remained fairly quiet throughout the day, with a weaker sterling keeping many overseas investors away. The dip in the value of the British currency took much of the shine off the Irish market, leaving international bidders to look elsewhere for good value.

In very thin trading, the financial stocks put in a mixed performance. AIB closed 4p better on the day at 576p, unable to hold on to 580p levels seen just after the market opened. Bank of Ireland however, slipped lower, dropping 4p to 776p.

Irish Life also drifted lower, losing 3p to 338p, while Irish Permanent dropped 8p to 617p. However, Woodchester held its own at 260p.

Among the industrials, CRH was also on a downward trend, shedding 8p to close at 742p. Smurfit was also unable to buck the trend, ending the day at 220p, down 1 1/2p. The food sector also had a mixed run, with Kerry unchanged at 725p, Fyffes up a penny at 93p and Golden Vale fractionally higher at 79p. Meanwhile, Avonmore dropped 10p to 280p, while Waterford Foods was unchanged at 165p with Greencore gaining 2p to 324p.

Second-line stocks also found the going rough, with Clondalkin sliding 15p to 605p. Crean was down 1p to 160p, while Irish Continental Group was unchanged at 820p.

In other news Goodbody Stockbrokers warned that, while the Irish equity market could still outperform its international counterparts, this out-performance was likely to come for the most part from improved performances from companies such as Smurfit and Greencore rather than a general rise in the overall market.

"As always, the Irish market cannot go against significant international trends. Consequently, if the US market continues to slide, the Irish, along with other European markets, will follow," the report said. Goodbodys expect international equities to remain fairly sluggish in the near term, marking time in the absence of a clear signal from the US market.