DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,697.78 (+ 4.41) Settlement date: May 29th:AFTER A very poor start to the day, the Irish market rallied in the afternoon session, mainly on the back of better-than-expected consumer data released in the US.

The two main banks were “well off”, one trader noted, until the US consumer data was released.

AIB hit a low of €1.17 at one point, while Bank of Ireland touched €1.33 but both banks bounced in the afternoon.

Bank of Ireland finished more or less flat on the day at €1.50, while AIB closed down just over one cent at €1.284.

Irish Life Permanent also recovered well to close flat at €3.00, having dipped to €2.76 earlier in the day.

CRH, always the biggest driver of the index due to its weighting, followed a similar pattern to the financials.

After a very weak start, CRH recovered in the afternoon to finish up 24 cent at €17.95.

“Consumer confidence numbers in the States were responsible for most of that,” a trader said.

There was little stock-specific news out yesterday, although Greencore reported a first-half pretax loss of €27.2 million. The food group proved to be the big loser of the day, falling by almost 9 per cent – or 10 cent – to close at just under €1.05.

Elsewhere in the food sector, bakery group Aryzta also came under pressure and lost most of the ground it had gained on Monday, tumbling by €1 to €21.95.

However Kerry Group managed to put in a strong performance, trading up by more than 2 per cent – or 35 cent – to close at €16.35, although volumes were light.

Ryanair struggled in the morning session, but “caught a bit of a wave towards the end”, one trader said. Ryanair closed at €3.29, down less than 2 cent.

Former State carrier Aer Lingus ticked up by 1 cent to finish at €0.69.