Further weakness in Eircom shares and profit-taking in Ryanair were the main features of an otherwise dull Dublin market yesterday. Bank shares remained under pressure, while industrials were mixed.
Eircom fell as low as €2.80 before closing 3 cents down on €2.83, following further speculation that KPN may be forced to put the sale of its 21 per cent stake on ice until the share price recovers. Ryanair dropped 45 cents to €7.45 as profit-taking continued following the company's results. The share is on such a premium to its sector that profit-taking was seen as inevitable.
Among the banks, AIB remained weak, with no sign of support as the shares fell a further 17 cents to €9.48. Irish Life was 7 cents lower on €9.00, while Bank of Ireland drifted 2 cents to €6.86.
CRH was the best of the industrials with a 30-cent rise to €18.60, but Fyffes remained depressed, falling 4 cents to €1.21. Kerry was 15 cents firmer on €13.65, while Golden Vale gave up 4 cents of its recent gains to close on €1.12. Among the explorers, the basket of 10 Bula shares fell 9 cents to €0.95.
Riverdeep did not trade in Dublin, but there was strong demand for its shares on Nasdaq on the back of its link-up with America Online. By midday, the shares were trading over $3 higher on $22. Elsewhere in the sector, Trintech was also in better shape, trading up €1.00 on the Neuer Markt at €20.80 and up almost $1 at $19 1/2 by midday on Nasdaq.
