Far from shying away from the turbulent markets investors are increasingly taking an opportunistic view and seeking out value for money and quality. Whenever there is uncertainty, the blue chips become the most sought after stocks and in the Irish market anyone trying to add a few to their portfolio is able in many cases to pick them up at a discount.

Those which have suffered most include Smurfit, Waterford Wedgwood and, to a lesser extent, CRH while those more fortunate such as AIB, Bank of Ireland and Elan still appear to have more to offer investors.

CRH is trading at around 20 per cent below its previous market highs, while those most badly affected such as Waterford Wedgwood and Smurfit are down by as much as 40 per cent. Some analysts believe Waterford Wedgwood has endured a higher degree of suffering than it warrants given its relatively low exposure to Asia and could be a good recovery play. Stocks particularly in vogue with investors in the Irish market include CRH, Smurfit, Waterford Wedgwood, AIB, Bank of Ireland, Elan and Kingspan.

Given the worldwide stockmarket slides, investors looking to other markets can also find good value. In the British market for instance, blue chip stocks such as Lloyds TSB and Smith Kline Beecham are both trading at a discount of 30 per cent, while in the US stock such as Disney and Dupont have experienced similar falls.