A decline in oil prices boosted the fortunes of the Iseq's second largest stock, Ryanair, and helped the Dublin market contain losses on another poor day for European stocks.

Ryanair advanced 2.38 per cent in the Dublin market, closing at €3.44, up 8 cent. Aer Lingus also joined in, closing up 3.6 per cent at 74 cent.

The easing in oil prices was the result of a cut in production by Saudi Arabia in response to weak demand, with Goldman Sachs, a key commodity investor, also rattling sentiment by closing its long positions in a number of commodities, including crude oil.

It was a less buoyant day for AIB, which announced a loss of €10.4 billion as it published its full-year results for 2010. Though well-flagged, AIB's numbers still managed to be worse than expected, according to one dealer. The stock shed 3 cent and closed at 22 cent, down 12 per cent.

Bank of Ireland, which publishes its results on Thursday, fell in sympathy with AIB, finishing down 1 cent at 25 cent. Irish Life & Permanent managed to stave off further losses, climbing almost a full cent, but there was little real volume in the stock.

As a result of Ryanair's climb, the Iseq's loss on the day - shy of 1 per cent - was a better performance than the major European indices, with the FTSE and the French and German markets all closing down around 1.5 per cent.

It was another quiet session for markets, with activity only beginning to pick up in the last hour of trading.

Building materials group CRH fell in line with international markets, ending the day down 1.4 per cent at €15.97 on far from spectacular volume.

Apart from the airlines, it was the food sector that produced the winners, as investors flew to defensive stocks. Kerry rose 1.7 per cent to €26.75, while Greencore advanced 2.1 per cent to €1.20. Drinks group C&C closed broadly flat at €3.30, while Glanbia added 1 cent to €4.34.