Markets tumble on euro fears

Yesterday’s modest gains were short-lived as the ISEQ slid dramatically today, finishing down 122.40 points at 2,986.19, a drop of more than 4 per cent.

Events in Europe once again dictated the performance of the market, as Germany's decision to ban speculative trading practices, continuing sovereign debt concerns, and an unsteady euro sent jitters across Europe .

Across Europe markets were down, though Dublin underperformed relative to its European peers. London's FTSE closed 2.8 per cent lower, the Frankfurt DAX shed 2.7 per cent and France's CAC 40 slipped 2.9 per cent.

Only a handful of stocks on the ISEQ index finished the day in positive territory, while some of the biggest names saw steep falls on relatively low volumes.

Index bell-weather CRH tumbled by just under 5 per cent to €18.14, reversing the previous session’s gains.

Banks continued to slide in line with the European trend which saw financials down significantly. AIB lost 6.5 per cent to close at €1.15, while Irish Life and Permanent fell by 5 per cent to €2.28.

Bank of Ireland rebounded towards the end of the session to close just over 1.5 per cent lower at a closing price of €1.40 as shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of a plan to raise €3.56 billion in fresh capital. Bank of Ireland stock with the entitlement to participate in the rights issue can be traded until 8am tomorrow.

Macro developments dominated events, and there was no reprieve even for the ISEQ's defensive stocks. Despite upgrades on key index names such as DCC and Paddy Power on the back of positive results on Tuesday, there was no follow-through to share price. Both stocks ended the session in negative territory. DCC was down 3.5 per cent at close at €17.66 , while Paddy Power shed 3.46 per cent to €25.10.

Financial services group, IFG was one of the few names to end the session higher, adding 2.6 per cent on the day to close at €1.17 after the company said in an interim management statement that the group would meet consensus forecasts for 2010.