The Irish stock market made it back into positive territory by the close, despite continued weakness in European markets.

The ISEQ index of shares managed to end marginally higher despite the continuing rout of European hi-tech stocks. However, dealers said trading in Dublin had proved volatile, with the two main banks seesawing through the course of the day.

Early buying of both AIB and Bank of Ireland fizzled out later in the day with both stocks closing off their intra-day highs, dealers said.

AIB firmed by 35 cents to €11.05 before later giving up some of those gains to close up 10 cents at €10.80 (£8.51). Meanwhile, Bank of Ireland briefly touched €8.10 before closing at €7.62 (£6.00), down 23 cents on the day. Irish Life & Permanent managed to hang on to its gains, however, closing 25 cents higher at €9.50 (£7.48) in a late sterling deal.

In the industrial sector, CRH was steady, closing four cents higher at €20.82 (£16.40) while Smurfit added eight cents to €3.01 (£2.37). But Eircom succumbed to the weakness pervading the technology sector, closing 12 cents lower at €4.03 (£3.17).

Traders said activity was concentrated in the larger stocks, with little going on in second-line shares. However, Heiton managed to firm by 20 cents to €3.50 (£2.76) following the release of record half-year results. Oakhill, which rose strongly in London on Wednesday on news that investor Mr Pierce Casey had taken a stake in the group, firmed by 15 cents to 50 cents (39p) in Dublin.

Meanwhile, Irish hi-tech shares on the Nasdaq continued to take a beating, with Baltimore down by more than 2 per cent, Iona off by more than 3 per cent and Trintech shedding more than 4 per cent by the time the Dublin market closed.