Independent News & Media (IN&M) proved one of the busiest stocks on the Dublin market today after Deutsche Bank issued a positive report on the stock.
Brokers noted that the recent heavy trading in the name continued today, and the stock nudged upwards from 11.7 cent to 12.4 cent.
Elsewhere, AIB was a little weaker on the day, slipping back by 4 cent to €1.50. One broker speculated that this may have been due to some negative commentary in the Wall Street Journal relating to the commercial real estate exposure of M&T Bank, in which AIB has a stake.
In addition, the bank's US line of shares had finished a little weaker on Friday evening, so there was some "catch-up" on the Irish market this morning, another broker noted.
Bank of Ireland was up on the day, gaining 3 cent to close at €1.76.
Irish Life & Permanent was also firmer, rising more than 3 per cent, or 10 cent, to €3.40 on good volume.
Insurance group FBD closed up about 6 cent at just under €7.72.
Outside of the financials, the market was pretty uneventful, with volumes extremely light.
Packaging group Smurfit Kappa added about 2.5 per cent, or 17 cent, to almost €6.78, boosted by "talk of a European recovery", a broker said.
No-frills airline Ryanair marked time at the €4 level, while rival carrier Aer Lingus dropped one cent to finish at just above 74 cent.
The Iseq index rose just 2.18 cent to 3,332.98. Across Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 index rose 0.1 per cent, while Germany's DAX and France's CAC 40 closed flat.
Additional reporting: Reuters