DUBLIN REPORT: Iseq: 2,827.99 (-16.29) Settlement date: July 8thTHE WEEK started with an exceptionally quiet day on the Irish market, as US investors took a break from the office to enjoy the Independence Day bank holiday.

Fears of a double-dip recession continued to swirl around those exchanges that did open yesterday. However, most markets sat back to see what the US bourses will do when they reopen today, brokers said.

Stock-specific news was thin on the ground, although low-fares airline Ryanair released its latest traffic statistics. Its passenger numbers in June rose by 15 per cent to 6.71 million compared to the same month a year earlier, while its load factor slipped back by 1 per cent to 84 per cent.

In the year to June, some 69.2 million seats were sold by the airline, although this figure includes 1.45 million passengers who were booked to travel on flights that were cancelled due to the closure of EU airspace following the volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

“The results were pretty much in line with what was expected,” one broker said.

The stock moved up to €3.73 at one point yesterday but drifted back to €3.67 by the close, down one cent.

CRH is due to issue a trading statement tomorrow, which should provide a good insight into how the business is likely to perform in its more significant second half.

In advance of this update, the building materials group slipped from a daily high of €16.80 to finish at €16.52, a loss of just over 1 per cent – 20 cents – on the day.

As Ryanair and CRH are the two largest constituents of the Iseq, the index found itself under pressure and gave up 0.57 per cent to finish at just below 2,828.

The banks had a relatively good day, with AIB jumping almost 6 per cent to just over 86 cents and Irish Life & Permanent bouncing 3.5 per cent, or 5 cents, to €1.48.