Iseq: 2,787.08 (–5.53) Settlement date: March 23rd: THE IRISH market was one of the few bourses in Europe to lose ground yesterday, as stocks were generally lifted by macro developments.

On a day that saw Libya declare a ceasefire in response to the UN’s authorisation of a no-fly zone over the country, and the G7 countries announce a currency intervention to assist Japan, European markets extended their bounce from Thursday’s session. However, the Iseq slipped slightly to close just above 2,787.

“News on Libya got a bit of a bid going in the market,” one Dublin broker said. “Towards the end of the day things sold off again.” There may have been some “position squaring” going on by investors anxious that the weekend might bring negative news on the nuclear crisis in Japan, or social unrest in the Middle East.

However, he noted that many investors were willing to take on a little bit more risk, with the result that construction and financial companies did quite well across Europe. This fed through to cement stock CRH, which rose 12.5 cent to almost €15.43.

Irish Life Permanent added almost two cent to 61 cent.

Trading in Dublin was generally thin, although Smurfit Kappa saw higher than average volumes with quite a number of trades carried out early in the session. The packaging giant gained more than 1 per cent, or 8.5 cent, to €8.34.

Elsewhere, Ryanair moved ahead to €3.28 at one point but drifted back over the course of the session to finish almost three cent down at €3.21.

However, rival airline Aer Lingus was lifted 1.5 cent to close at 79 cent.

Drug manufacturer Elan was another strong performer, closing about 17 cent up, or 3.8 per cent, at almost €4.60.

Glanbia was also ahead on the day, gaining 15 cent to €4.35.