European shares have dropped 3 per cent by midday, and the Dublin market is down almost 4 per cent, as fears over the US housing-loan problems continued to send investors running for cover.
At 1pm, the Iseq was down almost 3.87 per cent at 8067.5 following loses on the pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index, which is down 3 per cent, at 1,447.67.
A man walks past a window displaying the FTSE 100 shares index, which is one of the European markets that has fallen 3% today. Pic: PA/Cathal McNaughton.
Financial companies led the fallers, with AIB dropping 62 cent to €17.93 and Bank of Ireland shares down almost 5 per cent or 80 cent at €12.90.
Anglo Irish Bank stocks were down 45 cent at €13.33, and Irish Life and Permanent shares had fallen 89 cent to €17.05 by midday.
CRH was another big faller today, dropping 85 cent at €30.38, while Smurfit Kappa has also reported loses, down 88 cent to €15.
In London, fund manager Invesco, Bank of Ireland, hedge fund Man Group, and Standard Chartered were also prominent fallers as investors shunned financial stocks and sought the safety of government treasuries.
Northern Rock, which relies particularly heavily on the wholesale money market for financing, fell another 6 per cent following a 5 per cent fall last night, making it one of the heaviest fallers in the region. The mortgage lender's shares are down more than 40 per cent since the start of the year.
London's FTSE 100 fell below the 6,000 level for the first time since March, losing almost 3.6 per cent to 5890.3 points.
The falls in Europe followed heavy losses in Asia, where financial companies led the fallers