Telecom Eireann shares closed unchanged at £3.67 (€4.66) as a rush by small retail investors to offload stock failed to materialise.

"It wasn't hugely hectic," said one trader. "In all, about 16 million shares were dealt between Dublin and London, with more volume in Dublin. But the retail side was slow enough, not as much as we expected initially."

Share certificates and nominee account statements were posted out to retail investors on Wednesday, with most people receiving them in the post on Thursday and yesterday.

As a result, dealers had been braced for a flood of small investors selling their stock in a bid to realise their gains.

But, while there was good two-way flow in the shares, there was nothing like the volume of sellers expected.

One trader suggested that many of those who received the largest allocations already had relationships with stockbrokers and were in a position to sell last week.

"We are still seeing good solid retail supply but it's a pretty balanced market," he said.

However, some in the market believe it could get busier next week as people organise themselves to get down to the bank or a stockbroker with their sell orders.

The shares, at current levels, are some 19.5 per cent above their issue price of £3.07 (€3.90).

Dealers reported some selling by overseas institutions but local institutional investors remain underweight in the stock.

Telecom Eireann will constitute nearly 15 per cent of the ISEQ index, making it the second largest stock behind AIB and just ahead of Bank of Ireland.

As a result, the large pension and investment fund managers need to buy shares for their Irish equity portfolios and have continued to provide consistent support for the shares, particularly at the lower levels.

The stock remained confined to a narrow range yesterday, trading between £3.65 and £3.69 (€4.64 and €4.68) in trading.

Its closing level left it 19.5 per cent ahead of its flotation price, meaning that private investors who have sold their shares are still benefiting from the bulk of the gains seen in early trading.

Strong demand from institutional investors is the key factor maintaining a firm share price.

Some 600 financial institutions from Ireland and overseas were allocated stock, but most got less than they applied for and many other institutions received no allocation at all.

This has meant that there are buyers in the market for the shares that are being sold.

The key factor now for smaller investors is whether this balance will remain favourable next week or whether a build up of private sellers will send the price lower.