DUBLIN REPORT:Iseq: 2,719.77 (–19.95) Settlement date: October 12th

AIB SURPRISED brokers yesterday by holding up better than expected after it announced the pricing of its shares in MT Bank.

Nonetheless the stock found itself under pressure and closed down almost 4 cent at just under 41 cent.

Bank of Ireland came off its highs of the day but still finished in positive territory, closing up fractionally at 68 cent.

Irish Life & Permanent continued to attract strong buying interest and forged ahead by 4.7 per cent to €1.56, making it the star performer of the day.

Building materials group CRH saw strong two-way volume, but finished the day down 2.6 per cent at €12.40.

Kingspan was also a loser yesterday, shedding 1.4 per cent, or 8.5 cent, to €5.97.

Elsewhere, low-fares carrier Ryanair held on to its gains from Wednesday to finish at €4.07.

Rival airline Aer Lingus released its latest traffic figures yesterday, which showed that passenger numbers in September fell 3.4 per cent year-on-year, while its load factors improved 3.5 points. Although these statistics were in line with expectations, the airline was lifted almost 2 per cent – or two cent – to €1.11.

Cider manufacturer C&C dipped as low as €3.00. However it found some buyer support at this level and recovered somewhat to close at €3.03, a drop of two cent on the day.

Davy Stockbrokers downgraded its earnings estimates for Norkom in light of the technology group’s recent profit warning. However the stock shrugged this off and gained 3.33 per cent to finish at 93 cent.

Overall, volumes were not particularly strong as the Irish market took a breather from its recent good run of form. The Iseq index closed down about 0.7 per cent at 2,719.77.