European markets slip up to 4%

Yesterday was negative across all major European bourses, which were all off between 2% and 4%.

The major drivers were confirmation overnight from the US that the Fed has no immediate plans for further stimulus packages.

In Europe, lacklustre demand for Spanish bond auctions and higher yields on what was taken up led to negative sentiment right across markets.

The ISEQ index fell 65.01 points to 3,202.75.

Financials were among the hardest-hit asset classes.

AIB shed about 7%, or 0.7c, to 8.4c, Bank of Ireland was off about 6%, or 0.7c, at 11.1c, while Irish Life & Permanent gave up almost 19% of its value, or 0.8c, to finish the session at 3.5c.

Insurer FBD Holdings did manage to make slight headway, tacking on 7c to 9.07.