Market Report: Shares slipped fractionally in Dublin yesterday, broadly in line with European peers. There was reasonable volume in a number of stocks but no newsflow to give direction to trading.

"It was very patchy," one trader said, with most shares moving back a few cents.

CRH , which has seen its price dip since hitting a 12-month high in late July as several summer sells emerged, had a busy day with more than 21 million shares changing hands.

The stock ended the day unchanged on €22.70, having traded as low as €22.59 towards the end of the session.

Dealers expect interim results from the group, due shortly, will provide the next solid news focus for investors.

C&C was also in demand following news of its elevation to the MSCI Standard Index following a quarterly review.

The move, which will take effect at the end of August, will increase the company's exposure to foreign investors. It also gained entry to the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 yesterday as a result of its quarterly review.

The shares added six cent or 1.46 per cent yesterday on the back of the news to end the day at €4.16 to make it the biggest winner on the day.

Close to 8.5 million shares were traded, well ahead of the group's usual daily volume.

Elsewhere, there was plenty of activity but little movement in Ryanair, which closed unchanged on €6.65.

The financials made no headway with AIB, which saw the heaviest trading in the sector, dropping seven cent to €17.83 and Bank of Ireland unchanged on €30.33.

Anglo Irish was just a cent weaker on €10.87 while Irish Life & Permanent gave up 10 cent to close on €14.75.

Grafton, which has seen a number of sellers in recent weeks, was off again in significant volumes. The shares closed on €8.86, down 10 cent.

Other stocks to attract interest were DCC, off 25 cent to €18.55 and Eircom, two cent weaker at €1.73.

Settlement Date: August 22nd