As rising telecom stocks gave the FTSE its biggest one-day increase in seven months, Eircom continued to draw investor interest although there is still no sign that the half million-strong army of Eircom shareholders is yet ready to take a profit.
There was steady bid interest in Eircom yesterday, with takeover speculation also fuelling interest from investors. The shares hit a high in London at €4.82 before easing back, while in Dublin they closed up 30 cents on €4.70 - the best level since early August.
All the interest is in telecom and technology stocks and Independent - a bidder for the Belfast Telegraph - powered to a high of €10.20 before ending the day up 45 cents on €9.95. Independent's expansion into the Internet is the main driving force behind the surge in the share price and further gains are anticipated.
Other technology shares to soar included ITG - up €1.12 to a new high of €14.32 - while the e-commerce twins Trintech and Baltimore soared on overseas markets. Even though it was only marginally firmer on the Neuer Markt, Trintech soared on NASDAQ on the back of its deal with TechniCard to launch a virtual credit card for 25 Central American banks. At the close in Dublin, Trintech shares were up almost $16 at just under $112, a new high.
Baltimore jumped £7.65 to £82 on the London market and this was followed by further gains on NASDAQ where the shares were trading over $7 1/2 higher at just under $130 as Dublin closed. Elan was trading $2 1/2 higher at over $34 as Warburg Dillon Read tipped the share and set a $40 price target.
Bank shares remained weak although Bank of Ireland managed to recover from an early fall to a low of €6.20 to close up 10 cents at €6.50. AIB lost 5 cents to €8.82 although Anglo Irish was 8 cents firmer on €2.10.
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