Static market sees most activity in smaller names

Dublin Report: The market barely budged yesterday, with most activity concentrated in the second-liners.

AIB was the biggest mover among big names, with shares climbing by 16 cents to €12.56 on the back of Tuesday's positive results. The bank has been upgraded by NCB, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

The remaining financials were also solid yesterday, with Bank of Ireland gaining nine cents to finish at €10.68 and Anglo Irish lifted by 29 cents to €13.28.

Irish Life and Permanent went against the flow by dropping five cents to €12.35.

Elsewhere, Kingspan was in some demand, with one million shares traded. The stock closed unchanged at €4.80.

Kerry was busy as part of a wider move into defensive stocks, although the popularity did not translate into price gains, with shares falling 11 cents to €17.21.

Elan did well after picking up on the US market on Tuesday evening. Shares gained €1 in Dublin yesterday, closing at €16.90. Elan will issue second-quarter results today, although, as Goodbody has highlighted, investors are more interested in future rather than past performance.

Icon steadied in the US after tumbling in late Tuesday trade. Analysts said the market had overreacted to news of two cancelled contracts, pointing to a solid underlying performance. The stock was unchanged at €35.00 in Dublin.

Ryanair shed three cents to finish at €4.55 as the market anticipates next week's first-quarter results.

Grafton climbed by seven cents to €6.63 as next Friday's Takeover Panel's deadline on its approach to Heiton comes closer. Heiton itself gained 20 cents to finish at €6.30 as buyers outnumbered sellers.

Fyffes outperformed the market by climbing 2.4 per cent to €1.72.

CRH rose by 12 cents to €18.20 as one-time peer Hanson said it was optimistic about the second half.

Settlement Day: August 2nd