Most European stock markets closed firmer this evening, bouncing back from earlier losses, though the Irish market fell sharply as another bank's share price slipped below the €1 mark.
The ISEQ index finished down 120 points (4.7%) at 2,450, its lowest close since July 1996. Anglo Irish Bank lost 25% of its value to end at 83 cent. Bank of Ireland gained 10 cent but remained below the €1 mark at 93 cent. AIB lost almost 18% to €2.18. Shares in FBD slumped 25% to €8.50 after it said that its full-year earnings per share would probably be about 10% below forecasts.
In London, the FTSE ended up 76 points (1.9%) at 4,209, though HBOS dropped 15% to 63p. In Paris, the CAC rose 1.1% to 3,217 and in Frankfurt the DAX added 0.5% at 4,579.
US stock markets also made gains after an upbeat outlook from computer maker Hewlett-Packard. The Dow Jones rose 143 points to 8,417 while the Nasdaq added seven to 1,489.
Earlier, Tokyo's index closed 2.28% lower at 8,328 after another raft of gloomy economic and corporate news added to fears of a deep global recession.
