The old maxim that when international stock markets catch a cold, the Dublin market gets pneumonia was never more accurate than yesterday when share prices in Dublin fell almost 5 per cent and failed to benefit from the recovery that brought London, Paris and Frankfurt back from heavy opening selling to modest falls on the day.

The clear pattern of yesterday's activity was that of private client selling while institutional investors waited on the sidelines, occasionally going into the market for some "bottom-picking" at the lower levels. But at the end of the day, the Irish market had lost virtually all of its gains this year and is now sitting almost 26 per cent off its April 21st high.

The major financial shares took the brunt of the private client selling with AIB down 100p at one stage before closing down 72p on the day on 893p. Bank of Ireland was also 100p lower in early trading before closing down 50p on £10.30 while smaller financials were also lower with Irish Life down 45p on 515p and Irish Permanent 34p lower on 700p.

Bumper interim results meant that CRH bounced back from a 720p opening deal to close up 5p on the day on 770p. Dealers said in normal circumstances CRH would be up around 50p, given the reaction to the results and expected hefty upgrades to profits and earnings forecasts. Smurfit hit a low of 125p before closing down 5p on the day on 130p.

Irish technology shares regained some of the ground lost during Monday's tumultuous session on NASDAQ and, illustrating the extraordinary volatility of the New York market, Esat was back up almost $6 or 27 per cent after losing the same amount on Monday. Iona also recovered ground although Elan was lower once again while CBT was virtually unchanged as the Irish market closed.