The US Federal Reserve chairman, Mr Alan Greenspan, managed to knock back most international markets yesterday and unnerve investors by suggesting that the markets have now peaked.

His comments sparked an immediate sell-off, driving share prices sharply lower. In Dublin, the comments hit an already weak market and fuelled further profit-taking.

Amid the uncertainty, most shares drifted lower, with the financial stocks bearing the brunt of the downturn.

Among the financials, Bank of Ireland slipped furthest, dropping 12p to close at 890p, while AIB managed to gain ground on the day, adding 3p to 609p.

Meanwhile, Irish Life dropped 10p to 355p, with analysts undecided whether the weaker performance was related to its bid for New Ireland. Some have suggested that, even if it is successful, it may not necessarily be the best move for the company. Irish Life's market capitalisation stands at £1.1 billion at yesterday's price.

The other bidders did not seem to be similarly affected. Hibernian remained unchanged, closing at 468p, while Irish Permanent was also steady at 700p.

CRH managed to forge ahead, despite the weaker tone, going 2p better to 800p. Smurfit, however, was unchanged at 236p. Stocks in the food sector enjoyed mixed fortunes, with Avonmore steady at 265p, Fyffes down a penny to 99p, while Golden Vale improved from 76p to 77p. IAWS also managed to move ahead, gaining 2p, while Kerry dropped 5p to 835p.

Other stocks turning weaker included Arnotts, which dropped 5p to close at 410p, while Clondalkin and IWP both shed 2p to close at 608p and 320p respectively. Kingspan was also down, off 5p at 835p, while Waterford Wedgwood was unchanged at 87p.

In other news, NCB upgraded five stocks in the construction sector, signalling better than expected results from Readymix, Grafton, Heitons, Kingspan and CRH.