Markets across Europe were dragged down by pessimistic news emanating from Brazil yesterday and shares in Dublin could not escape the drop.

While the market here did not suffer as badly as some in Europe, leading stocks still took a pasting. The reasons behind it were clear.

The Brazilian currency slipped further, bringing its total depreciation against the US dollar to 30 per cent since the start of the crisis.

That, coupled with worries that Brazilian measures in recent days were inadequate to stop capital flight and Wall Street's obvious anxiety over the situation, depressed European sessions already hit by significant profit-taking on Thursday.

Worries that depression in South America was spreading to Argentina, where the peso is under pressure, made dealers even more nervous.

"During the last few days, the markets have been concentrating on mergers and acquisition activity, but now the economic worries have come back onto the agenda," said one dealer.

In Dublin the only corporate news was CRH's decision to exit the builders merchants sector in Britain.

By putting its Keyline business up for sale in an auction, it is likely to get £230 million. Dealers greeted the announcement with satisfaction and said that CRH had "gone as far as it could" with the Keyline business.

The sale should be completed in about three months, with investment bank Warburg Dillon Read appointed to handle it.

Despite the acceptance of the deal among traders, CRH's shares fall back from €13.75 (£10.83) to €13.65 (£10.75) in high volumes.