MARKET REPORT: IWP was the biggest loser on the day, closing 27 cents or 33 per cent lower at €0.54 after warning of problems in its Dutch business.

Settlement Date: November 19th

The stock market closed marginally lower, against the international trend, as weakness in Bank of Ireland knocked the index.

Although the bank posted a 10 per cent increase in first-half pre-tax profits to €602 million, in line with expectations, the shares slipped to a low of €10.86 before later recovering some of the lost ground to close 20 cents lower at €11.20.

Dealers attributed the fall in the share price to some proft-taking although one noted that there may have been some disappointment that the bank did not announce a share buyback.

Other financials also fared poorly although volumes were light. AIB lost six cents to €14.04, Irish Life & Permanent was down 13 cents at €12.10 while Anglo Irish shed six cents to €6.46.

Elsewhere, fortunes were mixed. Despite reporting strong results on Wednesday, Galen shares lost 22 cents to €7.10. But Elan closed 15 cents higher at €2.45 in the wake of the announcement that it would raise $120 million from restructuring an agreement with Ligand.

Waterford Wedgwood also added four cents to €0.44 as it emerged that five directors have been in the market to buy shares in the past two days following the release of its interim figures.

Irish Continental Group gained 25 cents to €6.90 as the company confirmed it had bought more of its own shares in the market on Wednesday. The shipping group bought 110,000 shares at prices between €6.45 and €6.55