World stock markets plunged today after a sell-off was sparked by the biggest one-day drop in China's stock market in a decade.
Growing anxiety about Iran's nuclear programme also contributed to the abrupt reversal of investor optimism.
Germany's Dax index and France's Cac closed down around 3% and in London the FTSE closed down 2% at 6,295 points.
In Dublin the ISEQ was trading down 327 points at 9,557 this evening - a 3.2% fall which erased over €4 billion off the value of Irish shares.
The selling in European and US shares was exacerbated by US government data showing a 7.8% drop in orders of durable goods, and as Europe markets closed the Dow Jones was down 1% and the Nasdaq was down 1.6%.
Earlier, Chinese stocks plunged nearly 9%, erasing about €105 billion of value in their biggest fall for a decade, amid fears that authorities would crack down on speculation which has recently driven shares to record highs.
Traders said the slide did not appear to be triggered by concrete news.
