MARKET REPORT: The Labour Day holiday in the US extended to the Irish market yesterday, with most stocks engaged in little more than marking time amid very low volumes. The overall index closed down 0.94 per cent, with the financials among the main losers.

Settlement Day: September 5th

Both licking their wounds after missing out on a coveted place in the Eurostoxx 50 index of leading European shares, AIB and Bank of Ireland were both off on the day. AIB took the biggest hit, shedding 49 cents to finish at €12.71, while Bank of Ireland lost 11 cents, closing at €11.81.

Elsewhere in the sector, Irish Life and Permanent also ended the day in negative territory, shedding 18 cents to reach €13.02. Anglo Irish Bank fared better, losing two cents to close at €6.44.

Traders said that the exchange's third big player, CRH, saw some selling interest but the stock ended the day unchanged at €14.55 in advance of today's results.

Hedge funds continued to show interest in Smurfit, as Madison Dearborn puts the finishing touches to its takeover of the company. Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse First Boston and AIB were all significant traders as Smurfit closed down four cents at €2.98.

Fruit distributor Fyffes had the honour of being one of the few newsmakers on the exchange but even then volumes were low, with just 590,000 shares changing hands. The stock closed down five cents at €1.43.

In technology stocks, Iona performed well after coming under significant pressure in the US last week, gaining 10 cents to close at €1.90. Riverdeep also held its own, ending the day at €2.25 having gained two cents.

Also among the gainers was Ryanair, which bucked the trend among airlines yesterday to close up 12 cents at €5.87.