The Irish stock market ended lower, dragged down by a weak performance by financial stocks, as dealers said profit-taking emerged after recent gains.

Anglo Irish Bank, which has made strong gains recently, was among the victims, shedding 20 cents, or nearly 3 per cent, to close at €6.75.

AIB also ended 9 cents lower, at €15.21, while Bank of Ireland lost 13 cents to €13.53, although Irish Life & Permanent held its own, dropping just one cent to €16.10.

Among industrial stocks, Greencore shed 5 cents to €3.18 in the wake of Wednesday's first-half results, while Waterford Wedgwood lost 2 cents to €0.68 in what dealers said was dollar-related weakness.

Building materials group CRH was also weaker, down 5 cents at €18.67, while pharmaceuticals group Elan lost 28 cents to end at €10.85.

One of the few bright spots on the day was a second-line stock, Arnotts, which gained 25 cents to €9.75 after releasing a positive first-half trading statement.

Meanwhile, Sherry Fitzgerald was unchanged at €1.05 despite announcing a recovery in the property market and the early declaration of an interim dividend of 1.5 cents at its annual meeting yesterday.

Grafton was unchanged at €4.68 after announcing the creation of 100 new jobs and plans to open in Tralee, at the unveiling of a new store in Newbridge.

Irish technology firms lost ground on the Nasdaq with Iona shedding 4.6 per cent of its value to $10.11 by the close of business in Dublin, while Smartforce was down 5 per cent at $5.50.