The Dublin market slid downwards on the back of depression on international markets, which continue to be nervous about news coming from Asia. Despite the downward pattern, dealers said that Dublin fared well compared to falls on other international markets.

However, hits were taken right across the board, with both leading stocks and second liners losing value. Dealers said huge volumes of stock were not sold, but investors who normally push the market upward stayed out.

All eyes are on Wall Street to see if there are any signs of recovery, which if it comes should help to stabilise other markets.

The two market leaders, Bank of Ireland and AIB, both lost value. Trading volumes for both were significantly down on normal. AIB lost 20p, dropping down from 963p to 943p, with Bank of Ireland shedding 8p to 1330p.

CRH was another victim, falling 20p to 1045p, DCC which has been strong in recent months, lost some of its shine as it dipped down 20p to 630p. There were some buckers of the trend. First among them was Jermyn Investments, which rose to 345p from 315p, on a wave of goodwill about the property market in Britain.

Also keeping its chin up was Tesco, which saw its share price rise from 615p to 637p, despite some selling. Kerry also showed a small spurt, going from 1020p to 1025p, despite the gloom on the market.

Other stock losing value was Greencore down from 367p to 360p and Smurfit down 3p to 234p.

The main corporate news came from Fyffes, which reported a 15.4 per cent rise in pre-tax profits. The company has ruled out giving some of its £58 million of net cash to shareholders and says it needs the money to fund further acquisitions, which it says will benefit the shareholder in the long term.

Dealers said the figures are in line with forecasts, although some said they were a small bit disappointing. The £18.3 million cash payout by Jones to its shareholders did not excite the markets and the share price didn't budge at 190p, despite the view from some dealers that the stock is undervalued.

Powerscreen steadied once more and dealers said that if nothing further is disclosed the share price may settle down, albeit at very reduced levels from a few months ago. The statement on Friday seems to have assuaged some on the market, although worries continue about the underlying health of the company.