MARKET REPORT - Iseq: 4,089.56 (-0.14).A QUIET day of trading yesterday made for a change from the frenetic share movements of recent weeks, one trader said, as investors largely steered clear of the market on the bank holiday.

The Iseq index remained largely unchanged as tiny volumes of shares were traded.

The largest volume of trading was in Ryanair, in which 3.5 million shares changed hands, about half the normal average volume in the company.

The airline closed down 9 cent, or 3.8 per cent, at €2.25, even though oil fell below €120 a barrel for the first time in three months.

One trader said Ryanair was "getting punished" on fuel costs, saying it had decided to hedge on oil higher than its current level.

Aer Lingus closed down two cent, or 1.4 per cent, at €1.41, though a fraction of its shares were traded, compared with Ryanair.

The Irish banks had a mixed day after Europe's largest bank, HSBC, reported a 29 per cent decrease in profits for the first half of the year, in line with forecasts, due to further writedowns of $15 billion linked to the US housing slump.

Irish Life & Permanent was the biggest financial mover, rising 20 cent, or 3.8 per cent, to €5.43, with 1.7 million shares traded.

AIB rose 2.1 per cent, or 16 cent, to €8.00. Anglo Irish Bank finished the day down almost 0.2 per cent, or 1 cent, at €5.07, with just under three million shares being traded. About 1.3 million shares in Bank of Ireland were traded as the stock closed down just 0.4 per cent, or two cent, at €5.36.

Elan continued its downward trajectory but its declines were far from the 45 per cent the company shed in value on Friday. It closed down 11 cent, or 1.5 per cent, at €7.24.

Independent News & Media rose 5 cent, or 3.2 per cent, to €1.60.

Settlement date:August 7th