The Irish market bucked the European trend today, as unlike markets across the continent, it failed to capitalise on significant gains in the US the previous evening.
The Iseq was almost flat on the day, declining by 13.88 points or 0.5 per cent to finish the day at 2,713.95.
Ryanair was again the star performer, as it followed on from gains in the US the previous evening by opening up 7 per cent, and reached a high of €2.37, before closing the day at €2.27, up by 22 cent, or 10.7 per cent.
Despite three of the major banks closing up on the day, brokers suggested it was a "sideways" move, rather than a real advance, as capital concerns remain.
AIB advanced by 7 cent, or 2.4 per cent, to close at €3.12, while Bank of Ireland also added 7 cent, or 3.8 per cent, as it rallied to finish the day at €1.92, having fallen back by 6 per cent in early morning trading.
Anglo Irish Bank was fairly flat on the day, closing up by 2 cent, or 0.8 per cent, at €2.09, while Irish Life & Permanent gave up its gains from this week, closing down by 63 cent, or 15.4 per cent, at €3.47, as investors moved to cash in their profits.
House builder McInerney saw its share price drop drastically by 38 per cent to €0.20, following a profit warning from the firm, in which it anticipated that housing completions will be behind the guidance provided at the announcement of its first half results. However, a late rally saw the stock close up 2 cent, or 6.3 per cent, at €0.34.
CRH was hit when one of its US peers announced weak results, and despite rising early in the day it fell off in the afternoon, closing down by 86 cent, or 5.8 per cent, at €14.04.
Other construction stocks also suffered. Grafton Group was down 14 cent, or 6.1 per cent to €2.16 and Kingspan also declined, losing 25 cent, or 5 per cent to finish the day at €4.75.
In the US, markets followed on previous day gains, as the S&P jumped 4 per cent from its low to its high, and by 11.09 it had advanced by 0.9 per cent to 954.74, as investment supremo Warren Buffett weighed in with his suggestion that investors should buy into the US market.
Across Europe, markets followed on from the gains in the US the previous evening, with 14 out of 18 western European markets reporting gains. The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 put an end to its steepest two day retreat when it advanced by 3.4 per cent to 213.37. In the UK, the FTSE 100 closed up 4.4 per cent, while in France, the CAC 40 was up 4.7 per cent and in Germany, the DAX finished the day up 3.4 per cent.