IL&P makes the news with its solid first-half numbers

MARKET REPORT: Irish Life & Permanent was the biggest newsmaker on the Irish market yesterday after surpassing analysts' expectations with solid first-half numbers. The stock built on recent gains after the release, adding 38 cents to close at 11.03.

Settlement Day: September 8th

In a generally flat market, other financials were less impressive with AIB dropping two cents to 12.60 and Bank of Ireland closing 10 cents lower at 10.70. Volumes remained healthy, despite a feeling that the stocks were losing out to higher-risk alternatives. Bank of Ireland said it had bought back 725,000 of its own shares on Tuesday, paying 10.8288 per share.

Anglo Irish had a better day, gaining 16 cents to finish at €9.04 while First Active, which emerges from takeover protection next week, closed one cent higher at €4.74 on relatively low volume.

Elsewhere, CRH won back some of Tuesday's post-results losses by rising 15 cents to 16.52. Company director Mr Thomas Hill said he had acquired 65,868 shares through the exercise of options at between 7.10 and 12.64. He also sold 58,526 shares at 16.71 each, realising a profit of about 300,000 over the two transactions.

Fellow heavyweight Ryanair added five cents to close at €6.56.

Among smaller stocks, Horizon Technology rose by four cents to 77 cents on the back of robust interim results. IFG, which reported earlier in the week, continued its climb with a seven-cent jump to 84 cents.

Heiton was unchanged at 3.27 as the company said it had bought back 2,145 of its 6 per cent cumulative preference shares at 1.27 per share. The shares will be cancelled.

Fyffes added one cent to close at 1.49 in advance of today's results. Qualceram Shires, which will also report today, was 10 cents higher at 1.50. Tullow Oil closed one cent lower at 1.31, again as the market awaited today's first-half numbers.