Market Report:The Irish market again took its lead from overseas yesterday as it drifted lower midway through the day as the US markets opened.

In the end the Iseq closed at 9,910, its lowest closing level of the week - a week when it made a historic break through the 10,000 level. Dealers reported decent activity in the banks, with as many as 4.3 million shares trading in Bank of Ireland and a further 3.6 million in AIB.

The performance of the shares was mixed though, with Bank of Ireland adding just 4 cent, to close at €18.53, while AIB slipped 5 cent, to end the day at €23.45. Both stocks ended the day off their earlier highs.

Anglo was quieter, adding 7 cent, to close at €16.57 on just under 800,000 trades.

One good gainer was C&C, as the drinks group at last put in a bit of a recovery. The shares rose 27 cent, or 2.3 per cent, to close at €11.82. As many as 3.1 million shares changed hands.

Dealers attributed the gains in part to positive drinks data out of the UK, which showed that cider clearances increased 18 per cent last year to the detriment of beer, which declined by 3.2 per cent. The company is also due to release a trading update next week and dealers said this has boosted interest in the stock.

Kingspan was also a gainer, adding 17 cent to close at €21.10. Dealers have reported increased interest in the company, which is due to release its full-year results on March 5th.

CRH meanwhile continued to suffer, dropping 33 cent, or almost 1 per cent, to end the day at €33.12. Dealers expressed surprise at the declines given the positive numbers from its European peer Lafarge.

Independent News & Media also suffered, this time from a bit of profit taking. The shares were down 7 cent, at €3.47.