The stock market continued to tell two very different tales yesterday as stocks with Internet potential remained on an upward track while those without such exposure were stuck in the doldrums.
The most obvious loser among the traditional stocks was Bank of Ireland which slipped a further 23 cents on top of Thursday's 10 cent fall to #5.77, its lowest close this year. The share price has not seen levels below #6 since 1997.
Dealers said volumes in the stock were heavy with overseas sellers joining the fray.
"Bank of Ireland seems unable to come up with a coherent strategy and people are losing conviction in the management there," one trader noted.
AIB, which recently made some attempt at unveiling an Internet strategy, did not suffer as much, losing eight cents to #8.75 while Irish Life & Permanent was down five cents at #7.95.
Other leading stocks to yield ground yesterday included Smurfit, which closed nine cents lower at #2.24 amid weakness in the US paper sector. CRH ended 50 cents lower at #18 as investors took profits after the results but dealers said volumes were light.
Moving in the opposite direction were Eircom, which continued to benefit from strength in the telecoms sector following reports that France Telecom may float its Internet service provider subsidiary. The shares were up a further six cents, or 1.3 per cent, at #4.80.
Ryanair also continued to forge ahead on foot of its Internet subsidiary. The airline's claim that its Ryanair.com subsidiary is the second most visited website in the Republic helped boost the shares by a further 40 cents to #8.65.
