"Sell in May and go away, don't come back 'til St Leger's Day." The age-old British stock market adage may seem particularly pertinent in 1999, but market analysts are cautioning against neglecting shares through the coming months, despite well-established seasonal patterns that indicate relatively meagre stock market returns through the next few months until the St Leger horse race in September.

Traditionally the months of January, April and August give the best market performance, while May and June generate the most paltry returns. "The seasonal pattern is about to become much less positive," said Mr Chris Chaitow, technical analyst at Robert Fleming. "My advice would be to take some money out of the market in the next few weeks as the buyers go beserk," he said, advising investors to take profits on rallies.

Yet other analysts argue that positive fundamental forces would this year likely dominate market direction, countering bearish influences just as they have repeatedly done in recent months. "I think the strong liquidity support is going to remain very powerful and we are going to see a few more alltime highs in the next month," said Mr Steve Wright, British equity strategist at Credit Suisse First Boston.

Mr Wright estimated some £40 billion sterling (€60.9 billion) would be returned to British investors this year following a spate of takeovers, share buybacks and special dividends. So if fund managers are going to plough this mountain of cash back into British equities, which sectors are they going pick?

HSBC Securities strategist Mr Steve Russell said many decisions would be influenced by the outlook for US interest rates which, for many market analysts, remain the biggest threat to British equities. Some analysts believe bank and oil sectors are an attractive haven in the coming months. If strategists are right, "Hang on in May, don't go away" might possibly be a more lucrative mantra.