The Irish stock market drifted in line with weaker international markets before recovering to finish 1.21 per cent stronger at 5,912.06.

The star performer of the day was Anglo Irish Bank, trading up 31/2 per cent in strong volumes. It closed the day 13 cents stronger at €3.78, with around 2.4 million shares changing hands.

The two big banks, however, were weaker following some profit taking after a number of recent rises. AIB lost 16 cents to end the day at €12.64, while Bank of Ireland dropped three cents to €10.32.

Any benefits Eircom might have gained from indications that Mr Denis O'Brien was prepared to increase his offer for the company's non-mobile business were cancelled by a general weakness in the international telecoms sector. Nevertheless, the stock held its own, finishing at one cent firmer at €2.57, with the rumours of a new bid offsetting the effect of a six pence sterling drop in Vodafone shares.

CRH eased back a little, losing eight cents to €20.18, following a strong performance on the previous day.

Galen continued its good run, with the market taking its recent quarterly results quite positively. It ended the day up 65 cents at €14.05.

Ryanair also came back strongly following its drop on the previous day, gaining 30 cents to €12.10 on reasonable volumes of around 780,000 shares.

Green Property picked up 36 cents to €7.76, with investors availing of what is perceived to be an undervalued stock

The big loser on the day was Smurfit, which eased back a little after a good run on the previous day. It lost six cents to €2.11.

As the Irish market closed, most Irish tech stocks were trading down in line with the Nasdaq, which had dropped 3.42 per cent. However, Riverdeep had managed to buck the trend ahead of results today, trading 4.12 per cent stronger at $25.25.