Closing price: 2,495.55 (-144.31) | Settlement date: January 17th: "Carnage" was the word used by one trader to sum up stock market performances worldwide today. Unfortunately the Irish Stock Exchange didn't escape the pain that spread across the globe. The Iseq Overall index slipped by 144.31 points to 2,495.55.
Banks across Europe and in the US were badly hit as fear and panic returned to the markets, and unfortunately Irish banks were no exception.
Even though the Taoiseach Brian Cowen rejected reports out this morning that he had warned that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) might take action in Ireland if public borrowing was not curtailed, it seemed that the damage to investor confidence was already done.
Anglo Irish Bank and Irish Life and Permanent bore the brunt of the damage yesterday. Anglo fell 30 per cent, or almost 10 cent, to €0.23, while Irish Life and Permanent tumbled by 39 cent to €2.18.
Bank of Ireland was the best performing bank but still lost 9 cent and closed the day at just over €0.85.
A lot of construction players were also hit yesterday, with "overproduction being cited all around the world," according to one trader.
CRH's Eurpean peer group struggled yesterday, and the Irish building materials giant followed suit, trading down to ¤17.35, a drop of €1.30.
Elsewhere, Ryanair slipped by 3.71 per cent, or 12 cent, to €3.25, while drinks manufacturer C&C dropped by 8 per cent to €1.32.
The only good news story on the Irish market yesterday was delivered by Kingspan. The insulation manufacturer was the star performer simply by virtue of the fact that it withstood the general malaise and held its ground. It was more or less flat on the day, and closed at €2.90.