European markets closed lower this evening, as continuing concerns on the financial system affected sentiment.
London's FTSE lost 3.1% to finish at a new six-year low of 3,512. London was also affected by a fall in energy shares after oil giant BP said it was scaling back its near-term oil and gas production growth target. In Paris, the CAC fell 1% to 2,555 and in Frankfurt the Dax lost 0.5% to 3,691.
In Dublin, the Iseq closed down 17 points at 1964, with building materials group CRH up 15 cent to €15.55 after reporting a fall in 2008 profits. Drinks group C&C gained 9 cent to 99 cent after announcing a reorganisation to cope with a downturn in sales. AIB was down four cent to 42 cent.
US stocks fell as financial shares reversed earlier gains due to lingering uncertainty about efforts to shore up the financial system. The Dow was down 18 points to 6745 while the Nasdaq was down one point to 1322.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei closed 50 points lower at 7,230 after earlier touching 26-year lows.
