Tumultuous market conditions during morning trade gave way to a calmer mood in the afternoon on equity markets, though the Iseq still finished the day down almost half a per cent and Irish bond yields edged further upwards.
As European authorities discussed possible solutions to Europe's debt crisis, the yield on 10-year Irish bonds advanced 15 basis points to 13.35 per cent.
The costs of insuring against a default by the euro zone's peripheral issuers hit record highs, while Italian and Spanish bond yields also spiked higher.
While the euro zone crisis loomed large on investors minds', prompting many to exit risky equity positions, the main stock news on the Dublin market concerned food group Greencore.
After months of rumours, the company finally did a deal to buy fellow supermarket supplier Uniq - an acquisition that will help Greencore secure greater scale in the food-to-go and chilled desserts markets.
Dealers noted that investors weren't quite sure what to make of the dynamics of the deal, partly because some might not have factored in the rights issue that will be used to fund it. The stock was sold off, falling 8.95 per cent to 88 cent, though with trading volumes low, the verdict was not as emphatic as that drop might suggest.
It was a day of contrasting fortunes for the Iseq's two airline stocks. Aer Lingus attracted buyers, helping the stock close up almost 4 per cent at 72 cent. Ryanair, in common with most airlines across Europe, tumbled as a result of weaker equity markets in general and a profit warning from Thomas Cook in particular.
The unscheduled update from Thomas Cook said its third-quarter operating profit would be down 20 per cent on last year, citing the Arab Spring and poor consumer spending in Britain.
Despite the fact that the UK Office of Fair Trading has referred Kerry's acquisition of Headland Foods to the Competition Commission, the food group's stock was one of the few winners on the Iseq, advancing 1.8 per cent to €29. There were relatively high volumes in drinks group C&C, which fell almost 1 per cent to €3.52.
Dealers reported "minimal" interest in the trade of Bank of Ireland's nil paids, which give holders the right to participate in the bank's forthcoming rights issue.
