The decision by NTL to suspend the upgrading of its Irish cable system and a modest recovery by Vodafone were two factors behind a solid performance by Eircom, which closed 11 cents firmer on €2.3. Turnover, however, was very low with just over 276,000 Eircom shares trading.
The Irish market is treading water just now and waiting for signals of further cuts in interest rates - and that is reflected in the level of trading. Even the large capitalisation stocks are showing few signs of life and it will probably take a kickstart from overseas to generate some activity.
Best of the leaders yesterday was CRH which jumped 38 cents to €19.08 as some analysts take the view that the share is fundamentally cheap on the basis of 2001 and 2002 multiples. Some sections in the market are also happy that CRH has steered clear of the mega-billion rationalisation of the European industry like Lafarge's £3.1 billion sterling takeover of Blue Circle.
Financial stocks were generally weak, with AIB down four cents on €12.96, Bank of Ireland 11 cents lower on €9.78, while Irish Life was 23 cents lower on €12.02.
The strong early gains on Nasdaq boosted Irish technology shares. Good results helped Iona to trade almost $5 higher on $64 in midday trading. Parthus bounced back from its downgrade by UBS and closed 12p higher on 178p sterling, while Baltimore gained 32p to 353p sterling. Strong gains were also notched up by Smartforce and Riverdeep.
