Yesterday was another dismal day for the Irish market. Most shares fell back in small volumes with little immediate sign of any relief as support from international markets was noticeably absent.

The dramatic 12 per cent fall to €2.86 by Eircom was the most significant event, but Eircom's army of shareholders may yet suffer more, with the KPN/Telia situation, weakness in the sector and the forthcoming one-for-25 bonus share issue all weighing on the share.

Elsewhere, Ryanair - trading at such a premium that profit-taking is an inevitability - fell 20 cents to €7.90. Smurfit's headlong plunge continued, with the share down another 13 cents to €1.80. The Smurfit share has now fallen almost 46 per cent from its €3.35 high of January and sentiment towards the stock, and the sector, is dire. Fyffes fell another five cents to €1.25 and is now less than one-third of its €3.96 high, while Marlborough fell 15 cents to €1.35. Golden Vale, however, bucked the trend in some style and jumped seven cents to €1.16, with some in the market hoping that next week's annual meeting may clarify the situation regarding the underperforming dairy business.

The leaders were mixed. Among the banks, AIB lost 10 cents to €9.65, Bank of Ireland was five cents higher on €6.88, while Irish Life was seven cents higher on €9.07. CRH was five cents higher on €18 .30 as the market digested the latest acquisition.

Technology shares were generally moderately weaker. Trintech fared worst, falling 80 cents to €20.20 on the Neuer Markt and down $1 3/8 to $19 3/8 by midday on Nasdaq. Others to fall included Parthus, Iona and Smartforce.