GOOD price mark ups in London failed to have any influence on Irish stocks yesterday and most prices ended the day where they had begun. The index was flat.

Trade picked up in the afternoon following on a very quiet morning. Domestic investors seemed to have little interest and what movement there was resulted from overseas interest.

A strengthening of the banks in London had little effect in Dublin but augured well for Monday, dealers said. The market was so lethargic it would not take much in the way of demand to drive it.

There was two way interest in the market leaders. The financials held their own and CRH, which has enjoyed a bit of a bounce this week, remained unchanged on 618p.

AIB finished the day at 358p, a rise of 2p, while Bank of Ireland remained unchanged at 456p.

Irish Life dropped 1 1/2p to 240p as the industrial dispute with its sales staff continued to affect share prices, dealers said.

In the agriculture stocks, Golden Vale dropped 1p to 61p.

Other movers were Independent, which shed 4p to 288p, IWP which gained 5p to 495p and Adare Printing, which dropped 2p to 440p. Glencar dipped 1/2p to 61p.

Government bonds made mounting gains on thin trade as the market looked ahead to next week's US federal open markets committee and Bundesbank meetings.