MARKET REPORT:IN WHAT TRADERS called an "interesting day" for the Irish market, a late afternoon rally saw the Iseq Overall Index edge into positive territory. The index of Irish shares finished at 6,392.50, a gain of 17.50 or 0.28 per cent.

The announcement by Bradford Bingley that it would seek an additional £300 million in funding from existing investors drove down the FTSE banking sector but the Irish banks outperformed their British peers.

In advance of today's trading statement, Allied Irish Bank was up 1.34 per cent to €13.60, while Anglo Irish Bank was also in positive territory with a gain of 0.97 per cent to €9.40.

In contrast, Bank of Ireland was down four cent to €8.76 and Irish Life Permanent was unchanged at €11.14, with one trader pointing out they were perceived as the most likely of the Irish banks to launch a rights issue.

Glanbia saw a lift from a bullish interim management statement, which reported a strong start to the year and reiterated guidance for double digit revenue growth this year. The stock gained 20 cent to € 5.20.

CC was another stock that outperformed its sector, finishing up 1.1 per cent at € 5.36, which traders attributed to a large institution which has been in the market building a stake in recent days.

Construction-related stocks were also under pressure. Building supplies group Kingspan was down almost 2.5 per cent to €7.45 in advance of its agm this morning. CRH was also weak, trading as low as €23.55 at one stage before closing at €23.70, a loss of just five cent.

As oil prices stayed at record levels, Ryanair lost ground and was down 1.8 per cent to €2.87.

There was also interest in Paddy Power ahead of today's annual meeting and it gained 1.78 per cent to €23.42.

Settlement date: May 17th