Market Report: Shares in Dublin moved ahead yesterday with investors showing good interest particularly in the Irish banks.

Strong credit growth and employment figures, coupled with the SSIA bonanza due to be released next year, have all provided good fundamentals to persuade investors of the attractiveness of these stocks.

AIB put in another strong performance, reaching a new high of €18.58, up 25 cent, an appreciation of more than 1 per cent.

Bank of Ireland also enjoyed a good run, on a day when Merrill Lynch placed 9.7 million of the bank's shares on behalf of an institution. The shares were easily absorbed and the stock ended the day 10 cent better at €13.21. The bank's management is meeting with investors as part of its post results road show.

Anglo Irish Bank, which is also on the road selling its message, made gains with the shares ending at €11.77, up 11 cent.

Irish Life & Permanent made the most significant advance with the shares rising to €15.70, adding 40 cent.

Ryanair was a feature, with shares gaining 21 cent to €7.36.

US broker Raymond James yesterday upgraded the stock to a strong buy, saying its view was based on an assumption that the company's share price would rise by at least 24 per cent over the next year.

Eircom continued to be a talking point, but the stock was unable to sustain its gains on Wednesday and slipped back again as the market firmly dismissed the prospect of a takeover with Swisscom.

Yesterday, the Swiss justice minister, Christoph Blocher, further strengthened the government's decision to block such a deal, saying its management must step down if it sticks to its foreign acquisition plans. And while Eircom still has a "for sale" sign up, investors do not believe another deal is imminent.

CRH fared better on the day, recovering some ground to end at €22.78, up 22 cent.