11.   A dealer with a European brokerage said the absence of foreign buying has caused some nervousness and triggered local investors to quickly lock in profits.

12.   A dealer at a European brokerage agreed there was little clear trend to the market, with a lot of stock specific moves such as Lend Lease.

13.   A dealer with a European brokerage said apart from profit taking in the major resource stocks there was little clear direction in the market.

14.   A sales director with a European brokerage said as investors realised the local market was oversold compared to other regional markets, they entered the market for bargain hunting.

15.   An analyst at a European brokerage said the pricing looks very cheap.

16.   An analyst with a European brokerage said Telstra was in a much better position than many other global telecom companies because of its strong balance sheet and cashflow positions.

17.   But a sales manager with a major European brokerage said the market was becoming more vulnerable to a correction.

18.   But another analyst at a European brokerage, who asked not to be named, said he did not expect any BA-KLM deal to come quickly.

19.   The dealer with a European brokerage said the index fall was mainly driven by profit taking in blue chips in late trade amid an absence of significant foreign funds.