The market was becalmed yesterday as the Thanksgiving holiday kept many US traders and investors away from their desks for the second day running.

The ISEQ closed fractionally down in volumes that were less than half the normal daily average.

DCC was again the centre of attention as its fortunes fluctuated during the session with investors assessing the pre-trial spats between the company and Fyffes in an insider trading action that opens in the High Court next week.

Gloom pervaded as the market opened and the stock, which tumbled 95 cents, or close to 6 per cent, on Thursday slid a further 95 cents to €14.50 an hour into the trading day.

At that point, buyers took over and the share recovered ground for the rest of the day. At the close, it stood five cents up on the day at €15.45.

Fyffes, the other party to the dispute, was the most active stock in the market with more than two million shares changing hands. It slipped one cent to €2.02.

Among the banks, there were some substantial price changes but little trade. Anglo Irish Bank continued its post-results surge, adding a further 17 cents to end at €17.05 - a gain of almost 7 per cent over the week.

AIB dropped 20 cents in what was, for it, insignificant trade, to finish on €14.40 while Bank of Ireland closed on €11.50, curtailing its losses to just four cents.

Irish Life & Permanent was off two cents on €13.15.

Elsewhere, one of the few stocks seeing above average interest was Kerry Group which swung between €17.70 and €17.90 before closing unchanged on €17.75.

Independent News & Media saw more than a million shares change hands at €2.25, a cent lower than its previous close.

Eircom rallied again, albeit in low volume, to close on €1.68, up two cents. Irish Continental, which is facing industrial unrest, shed another 15 cents to €11.05.Dublin ReportSettlement Day: December 1st