The Bank of England is still expected to raise interest rates in early 2016 but that prediction now rests on a knife’s edge after the US Federal Reserve delayed its first hike, a Reuters poll of economists found.

The Iseq Index dropped 37.33 points to close at 3,156.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher today after the US central bank pledged to keep interest rates low for another three years to nurture the country's stubbornly slow economic recovery.

By Conor Keane MORE than €1 billion was wiped off the value of shares traded on the Irish Stock Exchange for the second day in a row.

The Nikkei 225 index has closed at 10,633.72, up 186.18 points, following Wall Street's overnight gains.