The last few days have seen huge volatility on international markets, fuelled primarily by the conclusion of many Wall Street investors that the impact of the economic crisis in Asia has been underestimated.
The view that problems in Asia could seriously threaten corporate earnings in the US is fast becoming the dominant school of thought.
The almost 300-point fall in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday was the worst hammering experienced on Wall Street so far this year.
The signs in Asia this week have certainly not been encouraging. The Japanese Prime Minister, Mr Keizo Obuchi, who has the task of pulling the country's moribund economy back from the brink, has already been written off by many investors and economists.
They want to see large-scale tax cuts, but Mr Obuchi has been coy about how exactly he will tackle this question. Many observers believe he is not up to the job.
The mood this week darkened further when the president of Toyota, Mr Hiroshi Okuda, said "there is a possibility of Japan triggering a world-wide financial crisis, such as a steep stock market plunge involving Europe and the US"
New York's week was correspondingly rocky and next week will reveal whether the current volatility is only a short-term trend or a more permanent feature.
Inevitably, the Dublin market has not been insulated from the international trends: many of the leading stocks took a beating, particularly those with exposure to the weaker international markets. Independent Newspapers, for instance, which has particular exposure to the economies of South African and the Antipodes, started the week at 320p, but limped to 305p by the close of business on Thursday.
Fears of impending recession in Britain have knocked the CRH share price back - it started the week at a firm 935p but by Thursday evening it had fallen to 894p.
With some of the leading stocks taking a battering, the climate for major gains by second-liners does not look too promising. Indeed, the market's overall performance might have been significantly worse had AIB's bumper results not been announced this week.
Strong growth in all the bank's geographical markets and contributions from acquisitions meant a 66 per cent jump in pre-tax profits. On Wednesday when the rest of the market took a hit, AIB remained unchanged and some are hoping an after-glow from the figures will help the market to stay bouyant in coming weeks.
Greencore had a good week with its acquisition of Paramount Foods for £33 million helping its share price to avoid the overall slide. Analysts welcomed the purchase, seeing it as a further move by Greencore away from its dependence on sugar and into value-added foods. Fewer commentators are now claiming that Greencore is too cautious in its acquisition strategy.
