Demand by institutions sees Telecom shares resist sector's market fall

Telecom Eireann shares have remained firm, closing three pence higher at £3.70 (€4.70) as the stock resisted the general downward trend on global markets yesterday.

Dealers reported another active day of trading, with the shares staying within a narrow range between £3.66 and £3.74 (€4.65 and €4.75) ahead of the start of official trading today.

Demand from both local and international institutional investors remains strong which augurs well for the share price in the days ahead, when the small retail investor can at last get into the market to sell shares.

Share certificates and statements of nominee accounts will be sent out from today and should be received in the post tomorrow and Friday, allowing the ordinary shareholder to demonstrate ownership of the shares and to sell them.

Up until now, trading has been conditional on the listing going ahead as planned and has entailed some degree of risk. The bulk of those trading on what is known as the "grey market" have been institutions or experienced private investors who have an established relationship with a stockbroker.

"We are expecting the bulk of the selling to happen toward the end of this week and the start of next week," one trader said.

At yesterday's close, the shares were trading at a 20.5 per cent premium to their £3.07 (€3.90) flotation price.

Telecom Eireann shrugged off a weaker tone on international stock markets and softness in the telecoms sector in particular. Telecoms and financial shares accounted for half of a 100-point drop on London's FTSE index, where heavyweight stocks like BT and Vodafone fell sharply.

By the close of business in Dublin, Esat shares had also fallen by more than 2 per cent on the Nasdaq.

However, dealers believe Telecom's technical position - with institutional investors such as pension funds and investment companies owning less of the stock than they need to provide them with proper weightings in the Irish market - should lend support to the share price and help offset any weak international backdrop.