Iseq:3,397.00 (+25.09) Settlement date:May 6th

C&CWAS the main focus for investors yesterday, but there was no "wow factor" to provide real momentum to the Dublin market, according to a broker.

The drinks group's announcement yesterday morning that it has agreed to sell its spirits and liqueurs division for €300 million was extremely well-received by the market, although enthusiasm for the stock waned somewhat in the afternoon. After reaching a high of €3.83, C&Cfinished the day back at €3.60, a gain of almost 5 per cent.

Overall it was a lacklustre day for the Iseq, with volumes light across the board. The market weakened a little during afternoon trade, as investors tried to get their positions down and reduce risk ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

Volume in the financials were below average.

Bank of Irelandclosed off more than 2 per cent at €1.67, while AIBlost 1.6 per cent, bringing it to just under €1.44.

Insurance group FBDadded 4 per cent, or 30 cent, to finish at €7.80.

Elsewhere, Merrion Pharmaceuticalsjumped more than 11 per cent, or 42 cent, to €4.22, albeit on low volume. It is understood a large block of the drug technology developer's shares came onto the market on Thursday and was purchased by a major investor.

Independent News & Mediaconfirmed yesterday that it has completed the disposal of two of its London titles, the Independentand the Independent on Sunday, to Independent Print, a company controlled by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev. However, this announcement had little impact on the media company's share price which closed unchanged at 14 cent.

Kerry Groupis now trading near an all-time high, having climbed 22 cent yesterday to €24.11.