Sunshine can't stop AIB from stealing the show

Market report: The Dublin sunshine failed to distract traders from the market yesterday, with dealers reporting good volumes across the board.

The main newsmaker on the day was Irish Life & Permanent, which gained good ground after issuing an upbeat trading statement. The stock closed at €14.44, up 34 cent, after touching a high of €14.55.

Most of the other financials also did well, with AIB stealing the show as it rose by 31 cent to €17.64. Anglo was busy, with four million shares traded in Dublin, as the stock added 13 cent to close at €9.88. Dealers reported aggressive buying.

Bank of Ireland lagged the sector as it finished unchanged at €12.85.

Elsewhere, Eircom made progress after Tuesday's declines, gaining five cent to close at €1.78 as almost 5.7 million shares were traded in Dublin.

Independent News & Media was in worse shape, with shares falling back by five cent to €2.57. The move came despite positive comments made by IN&M's chief operating officer, Gavin O'Reilly, in advance of next week's pre-close statement.

Ryanair did well in the wake of Tuesday's reassuring comments from chief executive Michael O'Leary on trading and oil. Shares in the airline rose by 19 cent to €6.49 on good volume.

Abbey was also a good performer, as investors reacted to the firm being given approval to buy back up to 15 per cent of its equity. The housebuilder climbed by 17 cent to €9.67.

Sectoral bedfellow McInerney added six cent to finish at €8.43 on quiet trade.

Dealers said Waterford Wedgwood had settled into a range between 5.8 and six cent as investors awaited progress on the firm's €100 million rights issue. The stock closed at 5.8 cent last night.

Greencore was solid as the European Commission unveiled its proposals for the sugar market. Shares in the food firm added seven cent to close at €3.52. Fellow food firm IAWS fell back by four cent to €12.05.

Settlement Day: June 27th