LEADING Irish stocks gained a little yesterday, following the FTSE-100 in London and mirroring movements in New York and other leading European markets, but dealers described activity as very dull and dreary.

"Most people are still away from their desks and there is no great volume," said one dealer.

At the close of business, the overall index had risen by 0.61 per cent, matching the performance of the FTSE-100 in London.

Most of the business took place among the leaders, with AIB gaining 4p to finish at 391p while Bank of Ireland gained 2p to end the day at 530p, after trading at the 534p level at one stage. "Bank of Ireland looked well bid at 530p," remarked one trader.

Elsewhere among the financials, Anglo Irish Bank traded at 70 1/2p off one half penny from its previous close. Irish Life traded at 273p, up 1p, while Irish Permanent was unchanged at 485p.

Woodchester traded unchanged at 209p.

Among industrial stocks, CRH, the building materials group, held recent gains and closed up 13p at 610p. One dealer put it down to a better international performance in the British construction stocks.

Greencore put in a solid performance ending the day at 376p, up 3p on its previous close.

"Greencore is looking very firm at this level," said one trader.

Paper and packaging group Smurfit opened at 170p, but gained 3p on the day, finishing at 73p.

Among the second liners Independent saw its share value slip 5p to 295p, while Waterford Wedgwood remained unchanged at 75p.

Fyffes was up 1p at 109p, while Creau was up 5p at 190p. Property company Dunloe gained 2p to finish at 24p.

Dealers expect little volume until the new year. The exchange is only open for a half day today.