Until just before five o'clock yesterday afternoon it was a pretty humdrum day on the market, but then came the extraordinary developments surrounding the CRH #1.1 billion rights issue. Errors in calculating the take-up to the rights issue has meant that more than eight million shares may have to be found by the registrar to fulfil the placing of the rump of the rights issue last Friday.

That may mean that registrars Capita may have to go into the market and buy shares at the prevailing market price - they closed at #18 last night - to sell on at #16.50 to those institutions that took up the rump of the rights issue. What that will mean for the CRH share remains to be seen, but the company itself and its underwriters Davy and Warburg are understood to be furious at this astonishing development.

Elsewhere it was very dull and even positive NAPM figures from the US failed to lift the market. Financial shares were mixed with the biggest volume in Anglo Irish, which fell 15 cents to #3 in volume of more than 2.3 million shares. Volume in the two big banks was small and AIB lost eight cents to #11.40 while Bank of Ireland managed to gain 19 cents to #9.60.

Technology shares were generally weaker and Trintech suffered another heavy fall and closed on a new low of #2.03 in Frankfurt, a fall of 56 cents on the day. Dealers saw no particular reason for this latest weakness in Trintech. Baltimore remained out of favour and closed down 4p on 85 1/4p sterling in London.