Market ReportWaterford Wedgwood was the main talking point on the Irish stock market yesterday, as the group issued its fifth profit warning in two years.

The stock dived by more than 20 per cent to a low of 3.2 cents per share in early trade, before later recovering to close 6.8 per cent lower on the day at four cents.

Dealers noted that a lot of investors had taken short positions in the stock after finance director Paul D'Alton resigned last week and closing out those positions helped the rebound in the share price.

More than 64 million shares in the group were traded on the day, but dealers remained sceptical about the group's future, noting that what happens next is down to the banks and the dominant shareholders in the O'Reilly family.

Kingspan was the other notable feature on an otherwise lacklustre market yesterday. The building materials group added 60 cents, or 6.8 per cent, to €9.45 after announcing the acquisition of Century Homes for a maximum net consideration of €91 million.

"It's been taken very well by the market and prompted upgrades all around," one trader noted. Shares in IAWS turned in a more muted performance, adding eight cents to €11.86, following the release of interim results showing a 23 per cent rise in underlying profits. However, concern about the performance of the agri-business held the stock back, dealers said.

Bathroom manufacturer Qualceram Shires was the other company to release results yesterday, posting a 60 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to €5.7 million for last year. The news did nothing for the shares, which closed unchanged at €1.30.

However, shares in Independent News & Media gave up some ground ahead of the release of its figures on Wednesday. The stock closed four cents lower at €2.25.

Financial stocks also fell yesterday, with AIB shedding eight cents to €15.55 and Bank of Ireland down 20 cents to €12.40.