Telecom Eireann might be becoming Eircom next week, but the rebranding is coming at a time when the share has slumped to its lowest point since the July flotation (at #3.90), falling over 10 cents yesterday to #4.20 (£3.31) as sentiment towards the European telecoms sector remained negative. "So much for telecoms being the go-go sector," grumbled one dealer who admitted to having borrowed heavily to buy Telecom shares and resisted the temptation to sell when they hit #5.00 (£3.94) a few weeks ago.
Otherwise it was a general weak session and even continued good corporate results from Independent and Kingspan failed to give the market a spur against the background of weaker markets in London and New York. Even the bluest of the blue-chips, CRH, was hit by some savage profit-taking after the recent post-results surge and fell 61 cents to #21.05 (£16.58) while Smurfit closed marginally easier on the sterling equivalent of #2.86 (£2.25) despite an upgrade from Salomon Smith Barney, which has set a 12-month price target for the shares of #3.30 (£2.60).
Bank stocks were only a couple of cents changed from their overnight level as the market focus remained on the industrials. Fyffes continued to buy in shares without apparently being able to put a floor under the share price and bought another 763,000 at prices of #1.75 (£1.38) and #1.77 (£1.39). Last March, Fyffes was buying in shares at #2.28 (£1.80) - so it just goes to show that share buybacks do not necessarily put a floor under share prices. Notable gains were notched up by some second-liners, including: IAWS, up 30 cents to #4.00 (£3.15); ITG, up 50 cents to #6.90 (£5.43); and Jurys, up 20 cents to #8.00 (£6.30).
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