Market Report: The market may not have suffered a repeat of Tuesday's devastation yesterday, but positive returns were not exactly in evidence either. The Iseq as a whole finished 0.2 per cent weaker, driven down, in part, by a particularly poor performance from CRH.

Shares in the building materials group tumbled by 50 cent, or 2 per cent, to €24 amid general concerns about the US building market. Similar nerves were in evidence elsewhere, with Kingspan losing 38 cent to finish at €13.10. Grafton was more impressive, moving up three cent to €10.18.

Greencore was the main newsmaker on an otherwise quiet day, with interim results coming in ahead of most expectations. Shares in the food group, which is now set to branch into property development, became the star of the market after moving 20 cent higher to €4.

Independent News & Media, which should provide an update at today's annual meeting, shed four cent to finish at €2.27.

Ryanair, which reported full-year numbers yesterday, closed four cent weaker at €6.64. Merrion has a reduce recommendation on the stock, reflecting the broker's belief that the airline's valuation does not adequately discount oil or yield risks.

The banks closed a touch higher as a whole, but progress was far from impressive. AIB climbed by 30 cent to €18.20, while Bank of Ireland added seven to close at €13.70. Davy pointed out that Bank of Ireland was the only one of the three main banking names to stand in positive territory year to date.

Anglo Irish Bank had another bad day, falling by eight cent to €11.40. Irish Life & Permanent finished 15 cent weaker at €18.25.

Paddy Power fell back too, losing 31 cent to finish at €13.69.

C&C was solid, gaining 10 cent to end at €6.68 as fine weather boosted expectations for cider sales. Kerry Group also rose, climbing by five cent to €16.90.

Elan steadied a touch, closing six cent lower at €12.