Weakness in telecom and technology on shares international markets sent most Irish TMT stocks sharply lower. But there was little activity in the "old economy" financial and industrial stocks, most of which were little changed on the day.
With telecom giant Vodafone Airtouch down almost 6 per cent, telecom shares were hit hard and Eircom fell 7 1/2 cents to €3.75 - 15 cents off its July 1999 flotation price. Technology shares also fell sharply as the Nasdaq continued to fall ahead of the Fed meeting on interest rates this week.
Results from Baltimore were ahead of forecasts, prompting an upgrade from Merrill Lynch. But the technical overhang in the form of the uncertainty over the continued FTSE-100 membership meant that the shares fell £3.33 to £66.36 in London and were down over $6 in midday Nasdaq trading above $105.
Other technology shares also suffered from the Nasdaq malaise, with Smartforce down almost $3 1/2 by midday on $46 1/2 while Iona was trading almost $2 1/2 lower on $54 5/8. Trintech, however, was boosted by its link-up with Planet Payment and gained €1.39 to €27.49 on the Neuer Markt and was trading $1/2 higher on $24 1/2 by the time European markets closed.
The only price change of any consequence among the larger capitalisation stocks was a 20 cent jump to €9.80 by Irish Life & Permanent. Merrion Stockbrokers has given the shares an "add" tag and suggested that a share buyback may be in the offing within the next 12 months.
