Investors chose to sit on the sidelines yesterday in a dull Dublin market, with few willing to take any serious positions ahead of the announcement on interest rates by the US Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee.

By now, a quarter-point cut by the Fed has been priced into share prices and a cut of that magnitude will probably do little more than put a floor under share prices at these levels.

A half-point cut by the Fed should send markets racing ahead this morning although, even then, few see the market getting back to its dizzy heights for some time to come.

Most of the leaders were firmer and it was renewed weakness in Elan that confined the rise in the ISEQ to single figures. Elan was trading almost $1 lower on Nasdaq as the Irish market closed.

Financial shares were firmer across the board with AIB up 15p on 985p while Bank of Ireland added 13p to £12.13. Irish Permanent was 20p higher on 830p while Irish Life was up 10p on 500p.

All in all, a better environment for the First Active flotation than looked likely a couple of weeks ago.

The continuing carnage in CBT shares was the main feature of Nasdaq trading with the share down another $4 to around $11. Downgradings by BT Alex Brown, Goldman Sachs and Piper Jaffray were only part of the reason for the further downward spiral in the CBT share. Market sources suggested that the share was the focus of some savage short-selling by investors out for a quick profit and that there is no reason for a sell-off of this scale unless CBT has other skeletons in its cupboard.

The loss of a $6 million to $8 million contract and weaker sales in Europe are hardly sufficient reason for a share to fall from a high of $64 to $11 in the space of a few months.