Dublin report:DCC was the star of the Irish market yesterday as a rumour that it had sold its part-owned property group Manor Park for €750 million pushed the shares up by almost 9 per cent.

DCC denied there was any truth in the speculation, saying that the sale process, which is being managed by Goodbody and IBI Corporate Finance, was still in the early stages.

There was little doubt, however, that someone in the market believed the rumour, as the stock jumped as high as €27 before falling back to close up €1.15, or 4.6 per cent, at €26. Almost one million shares changed hands.

Dealers reported significant activity in the banks as investors switched out of Bank of Ireland following its disappointing trading update on Wednesday and into AIB. Six million Bank of Ireland shares traded as the stock underperformed the market, adding only 10 cent, to close at €16.80.

AIB, meanwhile, jumped 2.5 per cent, or 57 cent, to end at €23.12, with more than 5.5 million shares changing hands.

Aer Lingus closed less than 1 per cent higher, at €3.15, after earlier jumping almost 5 per cent. Dealers and analysts were unanimous in saying that the ratification of the open skies agreement was good news for the airline.

Aer Lingus yesterday also confirmed it would start services to three new cities in the US before the end of the year.

Drinks group C&C held onto the strong gains it made on Wednesday, adding another four cent, to close at €11.64, while Kingspan continued its good run, rising 45 cent, or 2.3 per cent, to close at €19.85.

Shares in ICG added 10 cent, to close at €20.20, as Cork-based shipping company Doyle Group confirmed to the stock exchange it had spent €7.5 million increasing its stake in ICG to just under 3 per cent.