Sharetrack 100 investors with a bias towards software companies were the big gainers last week.

Software companies are among those benefiting from the upturn in the performance of the Nasdaq, which has rebounded from its lows of April - helped by the spate of interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve.

Three out of the five best-performing stocks in the Sharetrack 100 last week were in software technology or Internet technology, with Trintech out in the lead with a very healthy 40.76 per cent jump.

Internet company Amazon.com put in a solid performance, gaining 14.69 per cent, while software technology firm Horizon advanced 14.29 per cent.

The previous week's top stock Bula again put in a very credible performance, gaining 25 per cent to rank as the second best performing share. Trinity Biotech in the pharmaceuticals sector also had a good week recording a 17.5 per cent gain.

Bucking the trend for software companies was Smartforce which was the worst performing share last week. The hardware technology sector had a poor week with three companies, EMC, Lucent and Philips Electronics, among the five biggest losers. Providence Resources from the oil sector completed the bottom five.

And the weekly winner has Trintech to thank for his success. Mr Michael McDonagh's Bear Foot in The Park portfolio, buoyed by Trintech, posted the biggest overall rise of the week at 27.45 per cent, just edging out Mr Michael Cunningham's Weekly Winner portfolio by less than half of a per cent.

"I went for Trintech because I thought it was a bit oversold and that there would be a bit of a bounce," said Mr McDonagh.

The huge swing in Trintech has also allowed the Clifden man's portfolio to take fourth place in the overall rankings with a value of 1,837,268.

"I'd definitely like to have a run at the top prize," he said.

With 12 entries, that may be a possibility but, for now, Mr McDonagh will have to be content with £1,000 and a year's free trading with Goodbody Stockbrokers.

Midas 5, the portfolio managed by Mr James O'Brien, has taken top spot in the overall rankings at 1,872,179 following a solid performance last week when it posted a top ten rise of 22.5 per cent. Mr Bob Cobban, whose Early Bird portfolio was ranked third last week, has edged into second place overall, while the previous week's winner Mr Charles Kingston has seen his Iridium portfolio jump from 48th to ninth over the week. A second portfolio, managed by Mr Kingston, occupies fifth place.

Also putting in a strong performance last week was Ms Joan Boulvin who took third position overall with her Last Trade portfolio with a value of 1,855,122 and who had a further three portfolios in the top 10.

Contestants can stay informed throughout the competition by visiting the Sharetrack 100 sections on the www.ireland.com and www.goodbody.ie websites.