MARKET REPORT: Irish shares lost 1.7 per cent of their value, led lower by weakness in the banks, as the market ignored the modestly positive trend elsewhere.

Settlement Date: November 8th

Despite announcing the appointment of a new chief risk officer, AIB ended 30 cents lower at €14.50 as more than 5.5 million shares changed hands in Dublin.

Bank of Ireland gave up 34 cents to €11.40, while Irish Life & Permanent also shed 30 cents to €12.60 and First Active was down 18 cents to €5.07.

Anglo Irish Bank did not escape the downward trend among the financial stocks, closing 14 cents lower at €6.55, as dealers noted that it was starting to look expensive.

"It has the highest price to book value of any bank in Europe," one dealer said.

CRH, however, closed just three cents lower at €12.70, as management continued to reassure the market about the asbestos situation.

Ryanair, which surged 14 per cent in the wake of Monday's buoyant interim results, lost 20 cents to €7.35.

Greencore shares were down three cents to €2.57 with nearly 1.6 million shares traded as Fidelity confirmed it had cut its stake in the company to 4.8 per cent from 5.9 per cent.

Elsewhere in the food sector, IAWS turned in a strong performance, adding 30 cents to €7.60.

Galen was another good performer on the day, adding 29 cents to €6.80. More than 3.1 million Dunloe Ewart traded as the stock closed one cent higher at €0.44, while Kingspan also saw good volume, with more than one million shares trading, although the stock closed 20 cents lower at €1.95.