The Irish stock market closed modestly higher despite a poor start on Wall Street as weak retail sales figures and fears over anthrax outbreaks knocked leading US blue-chip stocks.

But dealers reported good interest in Irish shares such as Bank of Ireland and CRH, while Independent News & Media gained some ground and Waterford Wedgwood held steady.

Bank of Ireland closed 32 cents higher at €9.55 while rival banking group AIB added 15 cents to €11.05.

In the industrial sector, CRH added 12 cents to €17.83, Independent News & Media was up 16 cents at €1.79 while Waterford Wedgwood closed a cent higher at €0.59 after trading in good volume.

However, leading pharmaceutical group Elan, which accounts for a quarter of the ISEQ index, acted as a drag on the overall market as it lost 1.2 per cent, or 63 cents, to €52.87.

Companies in the tourism and airlines sectors, which are most exposed to the recent downturn, continued to suffer. Ryanair was down 15 cents at €10.25 while hotel group Jurys Doyle lost 30 cents to €6.20.

Fyffes was another actively traded stock, losing three cents on the day to €1.25.

In the technology sector, Iona gained 25 cents to €11.50 while Riverdeep was also 22 cents firmer at €3.65.

In London, Vodafone was down 3.3 per cent at 156p sterling as traders said talk had resurfaced that Hong Kong's Hutchison Whampoa could place its remaining stake in the telecoms group.

This amounts to 900 million shares, or just over 1 per cent of issued shares. Vodafone declined to comment on the talk.