Iseq falls below 6,000 for first time since mid-February

Ireland’s Iseq index fell temporarily below the key psychological 6,000-point level in late trading on Tuesday for the first time since the global markets sell-off in mid-February.

The Iseq subsequently ralled from its lows in the last minutes of the session in Dublin to end 1 per cent lower to 6,023.09, marking a five-day losing streak, as investors piled out of stocks seen as sensitive to the UK exiting the EU.

Separately, the market interest rate on Ireland’s benchmark 10-year government bonds rose about 0.07 percentage points to 0.83 per cent, while the yield on similar German securities fell below zero for the first time on Tuesday as investors sought out its perceived safe haven status at a time of massive market nervousness. The difference between German and Irish 10-year bond yields diverged to hit their widest point in four months.

A Brexit would increase the risk to global growth, further weigh on the euro while strengthening the dollar, which would tighten financial conditions and likely prompt the Fed to reconsider rate hikes, said Jeffrey Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab in Boston.

European shares fell for a fifth straight session The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index fell 1.8 per cent.