It was a mark of the day that was in it that a fall of more than 2 per cent on the Irish stock market today was considered a relatively good performance.
As major European indexes plunged between 3 and 5 per cent, the Iseq held up slightly better, slipping 56.5 points, or 2.3 per cent, to 2,409.84.
The Iseq’s largest stock, CRH, was among the hardest hit, which traders said was due to its size and liquidity more than any other factor. The cement giant shed more than €1, about 8 per cent, to close at €11.45.
The Iseq’s second largest component, Ryanair, also got knocked. It lost the bones of 4 per cent, or about 11 cent, to finish just below €2.82.
The airline sector in general sold off today, including Aer Lingus. By the close, the carrier’s share price was almost 5 per cent, or three cent, lower at 59 cent.
Bank of Ireland bucked the sharp downwards trend evident elsewhere in the European banking sector, closing flat at 9.3 cent after releasing results which were pretty much in line with expectations.
Paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa got an initial bounce after announcing a 14 per cent jump in first-half revenues. However the stock quickly succumbed to the general downward momenum, and dropped below the €5 level at one point. It closed the day at €5.05, down 2.4 per cent, or 12.5 cent.
Exploration company Dragon Oil was one of the few success stories on the Irish market today. Dragon’s strong set of first-half results was well received by investors, and the stock finished almost 7 per cent ahead, or 33 cent, at €5.13.
National benchmark indexes fell all of the 18 western European markets today, except Iceland. The UK's FTSE 100 Index lost 3.1 per cent and Germany's DAX plunged 5.1 per cent. France's CAC 40 Index slid 5.5 per cent, the biggest drop since December 2008.
Additional reporting – Bloomberg