Telecom investors' mettle put to test

Wouldn't you know it. Just when the world and its mother has succumbed to the allure of Telecom Eireann shares, the telecoms sector gets hit by a bout of the jitters.

Those who opted for a quick profit will be patting themselves on the back as the short-lived leading stock in the Irish market took a hit amid negative sentiment for telecommunications stocks.

Profit-taking in the sector was a sideshow in the plundering of Internet stocks with whose future telecoms issues are so closely tied.

Still, playing the equity market is a marathon game and investors should be wary of following the lemmings at this first setback. After all, they are still well ahead on their investment to date.