Dealers described yesterday's ISEQ session as one of the quietest of the month, although there was some cheer for financials, which recovered some ground along with the international banking sector after being hit by fears of a 25 basis points US interest rate hike on August 24th.
Telecom Eireann, however, refused to shrug off its decline and was down 6 cents to a new low of €4.34 (£3.42). Telecommunications stocks lost ground generally, but one dealer said that, with 1.1 million shares traded, Telecom volumes were light with few buyers around.
In New York, the stock dealt up 2.4 per cent in midday trade to $18.6875, while on the Nasdaq, CBT jumped 8.31 per cent to $26.0625 following its announcement that a $1.6 million expansion to its agreement with Whittman-Hart had been signed.
Clondalkin, whose price had been moving up over the past week, provided the main corporate news yesterday as it emerged that it had received an approach by members of its senior management in relation to a possible buyout at €9.00 (£7.09) per share. Its shares dealt up again yesterday, gaining five cents to close at €6.80 (£5.36).
After announcing interim results of an 11.2 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to €14.85 million (£11.7 million), Golden Vale eased back one cent to €1.11 (87p).
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