Stock markets across Europe gave up Thursday's gains and more today, with the Iseq index sinking to a 2.7 per cent tumble to round off what was an edgy week.

A sell-off in European equities, led by weak banks and commodity stocks, was prompted by the publication of a worse-than-expected forecast on US employment, which is set to put pressure on the Federal Reserve to find a strategy to lift its economy out of its current mire.

This unexpected stagnation in US employment in August, coupled with a fall in average working hours, was enough to spook the fractious markets.

Dublin underperformed the FTSE, which endured a slightly less pronounced fall, largely due to the influence of its largest stock, CRH. The cement giant, which has a large exposure to the US economy, plunged 6.6 per cent, closing at €11.77, down 83 cent on the previous day.

Most of the majors also suffered as sentiment waned, with Ryanair, pharmaceutical group Elan and paper and packaging group Smurfit Kappa all losing ground.

Ryanair finished down 2 per cent at €3.08, the day after the UK Office of Fair Trading said it would continue with its investigation into its holding in Aer Lingus and would report on the issue in October.

Fruit group Fyffes, which has had a topsy-turvy week, closed down 4 per cent at 37 cent ahead of the publication of its interim results on Monday.

Food group Kerry was less affected, finishing down 1.1 per cent at €27.00, while Greencore also limited its fall to 1 per cent, closing at 60 cent.

It was Irish Life & Permanent's last day of trading on the main Irish market before it shifts to the ESM market for smaller companies on Monday morning and it rounded off its performance by falling 3.2 per cent to 3 cent. Meanwhile, Bank of Ireland, set to become the last remaining bank on the main Dublin market, fell 1.1 per cent to 9 cent.