Good demand for some of the larger capitalisation stocks meant that the Irish market avoided the worst of yesterday's heavy losses on international stock markets.

Once again, Anglo Irish was a strong performer and although the share closed unchanged on €3.90, dealers said that there was good demand for the stock at that level. AIB was very strong and dealt up 16 cents to €12.67, with reports that a London broker was actively bidding for stock for a US institutional buyer.

Bank of Ireland, however, lost 26 cents to €10.70 - hit partly by its demotion from Schroder Salomon Smith Barney's European banking focus list. Bank of Ireland was in good company, with HSBC and Societe Generale also being removed from the SSSB list.

Among industrials, Smurfit might have few friends among domestic investors but it is still in strong demand from US institutions. Almost four million shares traded as the share dealt up 5 cents to €2.16. Most of the volume in CRH was in London, with brokers reporting strong US buying interest. The shares closed 5 cents firmer on €19.22.

Eircom once again fell in line with weakness in the Vodafone share and closed 7 cents weaker on €2.51. There were unusually large volumes in Golden Vale, where a line of 500,000 shares was bought by an Irish institution - understood not to be IIU - at €0.95. Golden Vale shares closed up 7 cents on €0.91.

Rarely traded Norish slumped 35 cents to €0.75 in tiny volumes.