The Dublin market opened tentatively this morning as investors await key US economic data due out this afternoon. The ISEQ fell 25 points to 5,481, dragged down by Elan.
The leading pharmaceutical company which is mostly traded in New York, fell euro 1.50 to 54.50. Bank of Ireland found some support to gain 2 cents to euro 9.40 and CRH gained 20 cents to 17.00.
Technologies came under pressure again after the Nasdaq closed lower last night. Riverdeep fell 20 cents to euro 4.55, Baltimore shed 18 cents to euro 1.87. The downbeat mood was exacerbated by a profit warning from computer giant Compaq.
In London fresh losses for technology and telecoms stocks drove the FTSE 100 index sharply lower at midday following yet more warnings from high-profile US companies.
The blue-chip benchmark was down 133.9 at 5,595.3, having been down 148 points at worst, while the Techmark 100 index of technology shares was down 80.86 at 2,091.39.
In the telecoms sector, Colt Telecom was down 7.7 per cent, British Telecommunications 4.5 per cent and Vodafone Group 2.8 per cent. Cable & Wireless, down sharply since issuing a profits warning on Tuesday, was off another 6 per cent.