Iseq down 65 points, FTSE falls below 5,000 mark

European stock markets are taking another battering this afternoon.

The ISEQ index is currently down 65 points, while London's FTSE has fallen below the crucial 5,000 mark for the first time since since last year.

Ongoing fears about the soverign debt crisis and worries that stricter financial regulations could dampen global growth are being blamed.

Some market analysts have started raising the prospect this could be the "Great Depression II".

Oliver Gilvarry from Dolmen Securities has said: "The German ban on naked short selling earlier in the week has raised fresh questions as to how united the Eurozone nations are."