Irish financial and industrial shares continued their recovery on the London market yesterday, while some of the technology shares that led the charge in the first few weeks of the year closed sharply lower once again.
But the selling of technology shares has now become more selective and it was noticeable that the main Nasdaq index was firmer even though some of its Irish constituents were lower. Blue-chip financial and industrial shares in New York had a more volatile day yesterday after the record gains on Thursday, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, after opening lower in the first hour, rallied in mid-morning trading before closing down 35.37 at 10,595.23.
But not all the so-called "old economy" shares continued their recovery, and Bank of Ireland, the best performer on Thursday, fell 44 cents in London to €5.80 after initially trading up to €6.44. The other big financial shares, however, motored ahead, with AIB up 19 cents on €8.96 and Irish Life & Permanent up 25p to £4.95 sterling (€8.04).
Boosted by a "buy" recommendation from Commerzbank, CRH jumped €1.45 to €20.20, while Eircom - still part of the UMTS bidding in the UK - edged 3 cents higher to €4.63.
New technology shares were a mixed bag, with Trintech up €10 to €140 in Frankfurt, while Baltimore fell as low as £100 sterling before closing 50p higher on £108.
Trading on the Nasdaq saw Baltimore weaken and in midday trading the shares were down $8 (€8.26) on $173 after hitting a low of $162.
