Industrials and techs maintain upward path

With the New York market closed for Martin Luther King Day, there was little activity in the leading financial stocks, although there were some notable gains in the industrials and second-liners. Turnover, however, was low and there is no sign yet of any influx of money into the market.

Baltimore might not be quoted in Dublin, but there is huge Irish interest in the stock and no doubt that interest will intensify following yesterday's $150 million takeover of one of its American competitors. Baltimore soared 23 per cent to £67.50 sterling, suggesting that the share will hit somewhere between $110 and $120 when it resumes trading on NASDAQ today.

There were some good gains in industrial shares, with Independent the best of the bigger industrials with a 50 cents gain to €7.80, capitalising on the renewed interest following Dr Tony O'Reilly's decision to take charge.

Elsewhere, DCC jumped 30 cents to €7.70, Fyffes hit an all-time trading high of €2.70 before closing three cents higher on €2.63 while Heiton was 20 cents higher on €4.00 after its good results. Eircom was five cents higher on €4.15, IAWS gained 15 cents to €5.30 while Smurfit was unchanged at €3.20.

Among the technology shares, Horizon was 20 cents firmer on €4.50, while ITG - the star of last year's trading - continued to soar and jumped 93 cents to a new high of €11.93. Neuer Markt-listed Trintech, however, is stuck in a bit of a rut for the present and lost €2.38 to €48.62.