The Irish market managed to edge ahead in relatively thin trading, building on the strong gains on European markets on Thursday. Most of the leaders managed to add a few cents, but there is still a reluctance to commit funds of any size despite the market's under-performance.
Price-wise, the biggest gain did not happen in Dublin at all but on Nasdaq, where Trintech bounded ahead in heavy trading, although activity in the stock on the Neuer Markt was virtually non-existent. Trintech took the Nasdaq listing partly as a promotional tool, but there seems to be growing interest in the stock, which jumped $4 (€3.92) to $31 3/4
in yesterday's truncated New York trading, leaving the stock almost three times higher than its September float price.
In contrast, thin Neuer Markt trading saw the share just 25 cents higher on €28.45 - the equivalent of $28.88. Either Nasdaq investors know something the NM investors don't, or else one of them has called the market wrong, one dealer commented.
In Dublin, Eircom closed on a day's high of €4.18 1/2, a rise of 3 1/2 cents, although the other industrial heavyweight, CRH, fell 35 cents to €18.95 in very thin trading. Financials were also firmer, with AIB up 10 cents on €13.50 and Bank of Ireland 7 cents firmer on €8.47, although Irish Life & Permanent was 8 cents easier on €10.42.
Among second-liners, DCC was steady at €7.10 despite being given a strong buy rating and a €10 plus price target by Warburg Dillon Read. Greencore was steady on €2.57 ahead of Monday's results, although Adare's interims did not impress the market with the share falling 45 cents to €6.80.
