US economy drags Iseq down

More warnings about financial stocks and the US economy sent Irish shares tumbling again today.

As business closed, the Iseq Index had shed 146.95 points or 2.71 per cent to close at 5,269.12, wiping out virtually all of yesterday's gains.

As usual, dealers said that leading financials and CRH led the way down. The building materials group lost 9 per cent to close at €17.15.

AIB was off 4.52 per cent at €9.50. Bank of Ireland shed 3.75 per cent to close at €5.90.

Mortgage lender, Irish Life & Permanent tool a real drubbing, with 10.47 per cent was wiped off its value, as it ended the day at €7.95.

The Irish market mirrored what was happening in the rest of Europe. Financials in London and on the continent slumped after Goldman Sachs printed a note on Citigroup warning that the bank could face further write-downs, and one on General Motors saying that included a gloomy outlook for the US economy.

London's FTSE 100 closed down 147.9 points, or 2.6 per cent, at 5,518.2 points, its lowest close since March 20th, and its biggest one-day fall in over a month.

National indeces declined in all 18 western European markets. France's CAC 40 fell 2.4 per cent, as did Germany's DAX. The Europe-wide Dow Jones Stoxx 600 lost 2.6 per cent to 288.48 bringing this year's decline to 21 per cent.