The Irish market slipped yesterday as investors opted to take profits in the leading stocks after the recent share rally. Traders said volume was slightly lighter than that seen recently and trade was likely to wind down in the days ahead as the holiday season approached.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares lost 30.29 points or 0.77 per cent to close at 3922.32. The general index suffered most, losing 0.97 per cent against 0.47 per cent for financial shares.

"It's been a weak day. The market is off the better part of 1 per cent," one equity dealer said, adding that the leading Irish stocks were vulnerable to profit-taking after the recent strong run.

The ISEQ was also weighed down by a 53p drop in the share price of Elan to 3450p amid uncertainty about the impact of its £268 million acquisition of Sano Corp.

In London, the FTSE 100 ended 12.6 points or 0.2 per cent lower after fears of a sluggish Christmas shopping season hit some retailers, while profit-taking brought some of the high-flying bank stocks down to earth.

Wall Street also failed to inspire, as a profit warning from Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing dented a firm early performance from the Dow, while continental European markets turned in a mixed performance.

In Dublin, AIB lost 6p to 653p, while Bank of Ireland finished largely unchanged at 1038.5p. Elsewhere in the financial sector, Irish Permanent shed 3p to 715p, while Irish Life dropped 5p to 355p.

Industrial stocks also suffered, with building materials group CRH losing 15p to 795p, while Smurfit dropped 7p to 185p. In the food sector, Kerry Group was down 5p at 740p and Greencore slipped 2p to 328p.

Second-line stocks were broadly unchanged, although Heiton remained popular, gaining 3p to 215p, while industrial holding group IWP was up 2p at 297p.

United Drug, which announced it was establishing a joint venture company to provide an animal healthcare service, was unchanged at 408p.

Belfast-based semiconductor electronics company BCO Technologies began trading on Dublin's Developing Companies Market (DCM) and on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). The share dealt up to 166p in Dublin, while in London it firmed 11.5p to 151.5p. The company says it plans to invest £7.5 million sterling over the next two years.