Record oil prices hit all European markets today and the Iseq was no exception, dropping 2 per cent as it shed 130 points to 6,331 by 4.30pm.
Among the biggest losers was low fares airline Ryanair which is most exposed to spot oil prices. As oil surged to an all-time record high of $129 a barrel, Ryanair saw its share price plunge by around 6 per cent. By 4.30pm the stock had shed 18 cents to €2.76 with 2.8 million shares traded.
Aer Lingus was off by 2 per cent to €1.81 although volumes in that stock were light.
Financial stocks were also under pressure throughout the day in line with banking stocks across the water.
Bank of Ireland underperformed most ahead of its numbers tomorrow, dropping 25 cents to €8.55 with more than two million shares changing hands.Anglo Irish Bank was nearly 1.5 per cent weaker at €9.39, while Irish Life & Permanent lost 15 cents to €11.40. AIB was off around 1 per cent at €13.60 and FBD dropped back a similar amount as it saw its price drop by 29 cents to €26.70.
Construction stocks were also weaker, with Kingspan off more than 3 per cent at €7.50. Grafton lost 8 cents to €5.20, while Readymix eased back 1 cent to €1.24.
DCC, which defended its decision to unanimously reaffirm Jim Flavin in his role as executive chairman in a statement this morning, was 3 cents weaker at €15.64.
Among the gainers was Dragon Oil which was more than 4 per cent up at €7.16 on thin enough volumes.
Financial services group IFG which completed a placing of almost 3.5 million shares at a price of €2.10 a share, was nearly 3 per cent stronger at €2.20.
European stocks fell, sending the Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index to its biggest decline in two months, as record oil prices weighed on the outlook for profits and analysts said the financial market turmoil isn't over. National indexes fell in all 18 markets in western Europe. The Uk's FTSE 100 slumped 2.9 per cent, while Germany's DAX retreated 1.5 per cent. France's CAC 40 sank 1.7 per cent.