Ryanair was among the strongest performers on the Irish stock market yesterday while Waterford Wedgwood proved the weakest.

Shares in the low-cost airline added 28 cents, or more than 6 per cent, to €4.69 in the wake of the recent results announcement, helped by the investor roadshow currently under way.

But Waterford Wedgwood remained firmly out of favour, dipping to 15 cents before closing two cents lower at 16 cents with more than eight million shares changing hands.

Ratings agencies Moody's and Standard & Poor's have both put the company's crediting ratings under review in the wake of the profit warning that accompanied the sale of All-Clad. And while investors took the view that the company got a good price for the US business, this was outweighed by concern over its disposal. "It looks like they sold the only thing worth holding on to," one dealer said.

Overall, the ISEQ closed 32 points or 0.6 per cent higher as the attention of world stock markets remained firmly focused on oil prices.

At home, banking stocks continued their recent solid performance with AIB closing unchanged at €12.10 and Bank of Ireland continuing to notch up gains. Its shares finished 16 cents or 1.6 per cent higher at €10.49.

Anglo Irish clawed back recent losses to end the week 14 cents higher at €12.79 as Irish Life & Permanent provided the one soft note in the sector, losing eight cents to €12.47.

In the food sector, Kerry slipped back slightly from recent highs, closing at €17.35, down five cents on the day.

There was good volume in Kingspan, with more than 1.8 million shares traded, as the stock added nine cents or 1.9 per cent to €4.86.

Jurys also performed well, gaining 10 cents to move ahead to €10.10.

However, Galen closed 47 cents, or more than 4 per cent, lower in Dublin at €10.38, reflecting Wednesday's weak performance in London.Dublin ReportSettlement Day: June 8th