Dublin's ISEQ index fell over 4% today as financial stocks globally took another hammering with the credit crisis continuing to hurt sentiment.
The ISEQ slumped 255 points to close at 6,397 this evening after falls of 200 and 116 points on Monday and Tuesday. Today's losses were the sixth day of falls in a row and and the index has lost over €7.2 billion in value over the past five days.
The banks were again among the big fallers in Dublin, with Bank of Ireland tumbling over 6% to €9.18 and Irish Life and Permanent down over 8% to €11.56. Shares in Anglo Irish Bank lost 2.7% to €8.90 ahead of its annual results next week, while AIB was down 3% to €13.22 after it said yesterday it had postponed plans for a benchmark covered bond due to 'unfavourable market conditions'.
European stocks were also down sharply this afternoon as investors continued to fret about banks' exposure to the turmoil in the credit market, while the record high euro and oil prices further dampened sentiment. Mining shares also took a beating, falling along with metal prices on worries over the prospect of a US slowdown that could curb demand for base metals.
London's FTSE was down 2.5% to 6,071 while the Paris CAC slumped 2.3% to 5,381 and the Frankfurt DAX dropped 1.5% to 7,518.
