The market finished almost 1 per cent stronger yesterday, boosted by decent gains across the market.

The financials lagged the overall performance a bit, with Anglo Irish the weakest player in the sector. The bank stemmed its recent strong run by losing two cent and finishing at €11.33.

AIB was quiet as it rose by two cent to €17.70, while Bank of Ireland was busier as it added 12 cent to close at €13.15.

IFG had an excellent day, gaining 12 cent to finish at €1.46. Dealers said the stock was benefiting from the ongoing investor roadshow at the firm.

FBD also performed very well, gaining 66 cent to end the session at €33.14. Irish Life and Permanent, which goes ex-dividend next Wednesday, rose by 15 cent to €15.15.

Eircom was very busy, with about 20 million shares traded between Dublin and London. The Eircom share ownership programme (Esop), which covers about 14,500 staff, has converted a block of preference shares into ordinary shares that can be sold.

The Esop has converted 14.4 million convertible shares into 7.5 million ordinary shares and 6.5 million non-voting deferred shares. Eircom shares closed at €1.96 last night, up four cent.

Ryanair was also strong, rising by 10 cent to €6.80.

Elan did well too, gaining 30 cent to close at €7.50.

CRH had a variable day, touching a low of €22.15 before bouncing back to finish at €22.55, 40 cent higher.

Jurys Doyle climbed by 10 cent to €18.80 amid continued speculation about what happens next at the hotel group. The consortium led by the Doyle family is expected to issue a bid at €18.90 within the next 10 days or so, despite having reached no deal with developer Sean Dunne on his 27.8 per cent stake. Equally, Liam Carroll has given no indication of how he will proceed with his 8.3 per cent stake.

Meanwhile, new IEX entrant Irish Estates started trading at €1.30 but climbed to €1.90 before the end of the day.