Market Report: The market had a flat close yesterday after strong early gains posted by the banks wore off in afternoon trade.

AIB provided most of the early direction, as shares climbed on the bank's strong interim numbers. The stock closed 29 cent higher at €19.22, boosted by expectations of upgrades.

The positive move helped most of the remaining financials too, with Bank of Ireland adding 16 cent to close at €13.96 and Irish Life & Permanent rising by 10 cent to €18.15. Anglo Irish bucked the trend by finishing three cent lower at €11.39

Ryanair was also in the news, as it too beat expectations with its latest numbers. The first-quarter results did little for the airline's share price, however, with the stock ending the session 25 cent lower at €7.54. Dealers said the market had been a bit confused by the firm's cautious guidance for the remainder of the year.

Elan's second-quarter numbers were a touch less exciting, despite being a shade ahead of forecasts. More significantly, the firm provided no substantial update on Tysabri or its Alzheimer's programme. Shares fell by three cent to €11.69 in Dublin.

Paddy Power had another good day, helped along by encouraging interim numbers released by peer bookmaker, William Hill. The stock climbed by 23 cent to €13.30.

Grafton also took some benefit from progress made by a peer, with news that Travis Perkins was experiencing improving market conditions helping shares up by 30 cent to €10.27. Kingspan did well too, adding 10 cent to close at €13.09.

CRH was less impressive, despite announcing a new cement investment in Florida. Shares were flat at €25.20 as the session ended.

Elsewhere, C&C fell back by nine cent to €8.11, while Greencore shed four cent to finish at €4.00. IAWS dropped by 10 cent to €14.40. Independent News & Media gained one cent to reach €2.33, helped by strong results from its Indian associate.