Insulation group Kingspan proved the star performer on the Irish stock exchange today as investors continued to react positively to its first quarter results.

Kingspan pushed ahead for a second day after releasing an upbeat interim management statement. The stock touched €7.23 at one point today before settling back to close 20 cent ahead at €7.10.

"It was just a good response to topline growth delivered," a Dublin broker commented. "The structural growth story is starting to come to the fore again. I've seen good interest in the name on reasonable volume."

Kerry Group also continued to find favour, with its share price hitting an all-time high of €30.14 during today's session. However it slipped into the close to finish nine cent off at €29.80. The stock has received a strong response from the market since its successful share placing on Wednesday.

Ryanair, which has seen several days of active trading, added 1.6 cent to close at €3.56. According to one broker, the airline is attracting "a fair bit of interest" as investors position themeselves ahead of its results later this month. "Summer booking trends look quite healthy and no surprises are expected in the forecast," he said.

Elsewhere, Independent News & Media closed off just a touch at 59 cent after releasing an interim management statement that held few surprises.

Overall the Irish market closed 2.73 points up at 3,005.04. Across Europe, France's CAC 40 slipped 0.1 per cent, the UK's FTSE 100 slid 0.3 per cent and Germany's DAX lost 0.6 per cent.