MARKET REPORT:Another seat sale announcement by Ryanair yesterday may have appealed to passengers but it did little for sentiment towards the stock in the market.

The airline stressed it had made no change to the earnings guidance given on June 5th, but chief executive Michael O'Leary said that airlines face a "big downturn" in the next 12 months and that the air travel business was "soft and worsening".

To counteract this, Ryanair said it would sell three million seats at £10 (€15) including taxes and charges. While this will boost ticket sales, dealers said the price reduction will lower the yield. The shares fell 3.7 per cent, or 19 cent, to €4.98, with almost 10 million units trading.

Elsewhere dealers reported decent activity in the financials, with more than four million shares trading in both Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish. However, one dealer said the sentiment was mixed after an ABN-Amro report came out in favour of the Irish banks while Citigroup said they were best avoided.

AIB closed up 13 cent, at €21.65, while Bank of Ireland and Anglo Irish ended the day lower, down five cent and 22 cent, at €15.95 and €16 respectively. Irish Life & Permanent climbed five cent to close at €19.20.

Independent News & Media had a good day, rising 2.9 per cent, or 11 cent, at €3.66. The company yesterday announced it had bought back a further 2.5 million of its own shares at a cost of €9.1 million. A spokesman denied it was a move aimed at preventing Denis O'Brien getting the shares, but rather a function of efficient treasury management ahead of a possible stock dilution later in the year.

C&C confirmed it had bought back 300,000 of its own shares. The stock yesterday fell 1.6 per cent, or 19 cent, to €11.60.