No respite for hard-hit investors as €1.5bn wiped off shares

MORE than €1.5 billion was wiped off the value of Irish shares yesterday in another black day for investors.

As the fallout from recent accounting scandals continued to rock world markets, the FTSE 100 index nose-dived by 70bn. A further 170bn was wiped off the value of Europe's leading firms, which closed at a four-year low.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares was down 2.73% at 4,336.9 points, its lowest close since October 1998.