The Irish stock market closed lower as poor US trade data took its toll on Wall Street and undermined stock markets around the world.
The dollar hit seven-month lows against the Japanese yen and both US bond and equity markets slipped after the US trade deficit surged to a record $24.62 billion deficit in June, far exceeding Wall Street's expectations.
"The US deficit is rising so quickly that there is some concern over whether it is sustainable and whether foreign investors will continue to willingly finance such a large and growing deficit," said one senior US economist.
Dealers said many investors were also reluctant to trade ahead of the US Federal Reserve's key interest rate-policy meeting next Tuesday.
Many investors are braced for a quarter of a percentage point rate rise.
"People are grabbing any excuse not to trade with both hands," said one dealer, pointing to the very low volumes traded in the Irish market.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index closed nearly half a percentage point lower with most of the activity confined to the leading shares. AIB slipped by seven cents to €11.75 (£9.25), Bank of Ireland was down 27 cents at €8.45 (£6.65) while Anglo Irish slipped by five cents to €2.25 (£1.77).
Telecom Eireann also continued its recent slide, closing at a new low of €4.26 (£3.36), down five cents. But CRH bucked the general trend and gained 15 cents to €19.25 (£15.16).
