AFTER the hiatus the previous week, when Wall Street plunged, the past week has seen an altogether better performance on most stock markets. Wall Street recovered at least until the next bad set of economic figures sends the computer programmes into a sell sell mode.
Even if the next batch of figures is benign, dealers believe that it will be some time before the Dow goes back above the 7,000 level.
On the domestic front, it was a week of corporate events - some positive for the companies concerned and some negative. And next week sees an event of historic importance, at least for the new issue starved Irish stock market - the arrival of bathroom manufacturer Qualceram on the market.
Qualceram may be of modest size, but its decision to go on the market with a capitalisation of around £20 million shows that the stock market can be an attractive proposition for smaller Irish companies.
With Ryanair and Doyle Hotels thought to be lining up flotations, and the corporate finance houses suggesting that the new Developing Companies Market could have a dozen companies listed within a year, 1997 could be a turning point for the Irish market.
And for those in the market bemoaning the recent cut in institutional commissions, the prospect of Norwich Union coming to the market with an estimated 150,009 Irish shareholders alone is enough to make stockbrokers drool with delight. Norwich shares begin trading in midsummer.
For Bank of Ireland, the overwhelming vote in favour of takeover by Bristol & West shareholders was a major boost, with the shares surging 30p in a couple of days trading. There was never any real doubt that the takeover would be approved, so the rise in the Bank of Ireland share price may have been overdone.
Negative comments about current trading by the chairman, Mr Neil McCann, at the Fyffes annual general meeting sent what is already a poorly performing share even lower. By the close yesterday, the Fyffes shares was trading 10p below its pre a.g.m. level of 106p and is now down around 50 per cent relative to the ISEQ Index over the past five years.
The Avonmore/Waterford affair meandered along over the week, with no sign in the market of any confidence that Avonmore will be successful in its offer. It is difficult to find anybody who believes that the required 75 per cent approval of Waterford shareholders will bed achieved, even if the Avonmore proposal gets to special general meetings with the approval of the Waterford board.
A mixture of good and bad news for Smurfit shareholders, with the dreadful first quarter results from J.S. Corp being balanced out to a degree by Dr Michael Smurfit's £16 million spending on share options. Famous for his "equity is blood" comment a few years ago, the chairman's renewed investment in the group was welcomed, even if it did give him an immediate £11 million paper profit.
Greencore shares have been one of the poorest performers in the past few weeks, with the shares slumping from a high of 390p for a variety of reasons - the growers boycott, green pound revaluations and the current strike in the sugar plants.
