The Irish stock market ended marginally firmer but activity was on the light side and again confined to the leading stocks as many investors used today's Thanksgiving holiday in the US as an excuse to take to the sidelines. Dealers said the main focus had been on a number of select stocks such as Eircom, which closed 7.5 cents higher at €4.07 (£3.21) after a fairly active day's trading.

Elsewhere in the industrial sector, Smurfit attracted good investor interest although it was up by just half a cent at €2.60 (£2.05), while CRH bounced back from the previous day's losses, recording a rise of 12 cents to close at €19.00 (£14.96). "The company will be one of the main beneficiaries of the National Development Plan and it's seen as a pure play on the Irish economy for those worried about the banks and the pressure on their margins," one trader said.

The two main banks both closed weaker, with AIB shedding 30 cents to €13.30 (£10.47) while Bank of Ireland was down 15 cents at €8.35 (£6.58). Irish Life & Permanent lost three cents to €10.47 (£8.25). Only Anglo Irish firmed, adding four cents to €2.39 (£1.88) in the wake of its strong full-year results, released on Tuesday.

As a result of the general weakness among banking shares, the financial index closed 1.6 per cent lower, although in overall terms, this was offset by the general index which firmed by a little more than one per cent. In the food sector, Greencore was down a cent at €2.57 (£2.02), while Kerry Group was unchanged at €12.00 (£9.45).