Another mixed performance on the Irish market saw solid gains by AIB and CRH being countered by continued weakness in Elan and an unchanged performance by Bank of Ireland.

CRH, adding 50 cents to €18.90 (£14.88), was boosted by good results from its French counterpart and the sale of its Keyline business in Britain to Travis Perkins for £219 million. The price for Keyline may not have been at the upper end of forecasts, but the market welcomed the positive impact of the deal on CRH's balance sheet, especially if CRH becomes involved in a bid for any of the Scancem assets.

An attempt by Elan to reassure the market failed to have the desired effect. The shares were €2.55 lower on €52.45 (£41.31) in Dublin while early selling on the NYSE had Elan's shares over $21/2 lower on $54.75 (€51.49). The problem for Elan is that as soon as it looks like staging a recovery, more selling sets in. That means that any prospect of the ISEQ pushing ahead seems unlikely, at least until Elan shows some signs of a sustained recovery.

AIB had a good day, pushing ahead 15 cents to €15.65 (£12.33) while Bank of Ireland was unchanged on €19.00 (£14.96). Other financials were weaker, with Anglo Irish down 3 cents on €2.775 (£2.19), First Active off 5 cents on €3.65 (£2.87), and Irish Life & Permanent dropping 40 cents to €13.80 (£10.87).

Second-liners were mixed, with Glanbia down another 3 cents to €1.85 (£1.46) - not helped by the loss of its Safeway supply contract in Britain. Irish Continental jumped 40 cents to €12.90 (£10.16), Kerry gained 9 cents to €12.69 (£9.99) while good results boosted Ryan 5 cents to 95 cents (75p).

Continued buying of Esat was the highlight of Nasdaq-trading Irish stocks. Esat is up over $4 in the past two days mainly on speculation on a successful bid for Cablelink and a new high over $50 seems certain if that speculation proves accurate.