Market report: The final day of the week saw an about turn in the Irish market, as it bucked the downward trend it adopted earlier in the week to close 24.30 points higher.

Positive statements from Barclays in the UK yesterday helped boost sentiment in the Irish banks after a particularly poor performance on Thursday, while an earnings upgrade from budget airline Easyjet and strong first-quarter numbers from British Airways helped give Ryanair a bit of upwards momentum.

Anglo Irish was the biggest gainer among the banks, adding 17 cent to end the day at €11.12. Irish Life and Permanent rose 10 cent to €14.70, while Allied Irish closed up 7 cent at €17.72. Bank of Ireland closed up 6 cent at €13.39.

Ryanair stock rose 13 cent to €6.73. British Airways yesterday reported a 36 per cent increase in first-quarter operating profit as it carried more first and business class passengers. Easyjet raised its forecast for full-year profit, saying it would match that of the previous year rather than lag it as the company said in May.

Elsewhere Paddy Power continued its positive run, adding 30 cent, to end the day at €15.80.

Another big mover, adding 27 cent, or 7 per cent, was C&C. The drinks and snacks maker closed at €4.27 after a London-based brokerage raised their price target to €5 from €3.5, saying the full potential of the rollout of the group's Magners cider in the UK was not reflected in the price. The bank said it expects the group to win a 10 per cent share of the UK cider market with Magners.

Eircom was also among the gainers, rising 4 cent to €1.76.

Moving in the other direction, CRH continued its decline, falling 18 cent to end the day at €22.95. Greencore also slipped 12 cent to €3.70.

Shares of oil exploration company Providence Resources were little changed at 5 cent, even though the company announced it would start drilling for oil in Nigeria within the next two weeks.

Settlement Date: August 10th