Shares closed modestly lower in sympathy with weaker overseas markets on a generally quiet day for news.

Dealers reported some switching between the two main banking stocks as AIB's share buyback drew to a close. AIB shares closed two cents lower at 13.08 as the bank said it bought back 945,000 shares at an average price of 13.08 on Tuesday, largely completing its 450 million buyback programme.

More than five million Bank of Ireland shares traded, prompting some dealers to speculate that it may have begun to repurchase its own shares. The stock shed four cents to 11.18.

Meanwhile, Anglo Irish Bank lost seven cents to €7.19, despite its recent upgrade from ratings agency Moody's. However, brokers noted that the stock is due to be deleted from the MSCI index at the end of the month because it is too large but there are no plans to include it in another index, which could dent the share price.

CRH was among the stocks affected by the weaker trend, shedding 19 cents to 13.22. Elan gave up some of Tuesday's gains, shedding 16 cents to 3.90 while Galen lost 33 cents to 7.65.

However, Ryanair resisted the downward trend, closing 11 cents higher at 5.66. DCC was another gainer on the day, firming by 15 cents to 11.65, as it continued to benefit from broker upgrades in the wake of its recent set of strong results.

Gresham shares added just two cents to 0.77 as shareholders at the annual meeting were told that market conditions remained tough although first-quarter trading was slightly ahead of last year.

Some two million Barlo shares traded, as the stock edged up by two cents to 0.25, ahead of today's release of full-year results.