With international markets once again falling back as the Russian crisis goes from bad to worse, it was another tedious day in Dublin with most investors sitting on the sidelines.

There is now a stand-off between domestic institutions - natural sellers of the market in the run-up to EMU - and potential international buyers who are steering clear of virtually every market at the moment. The Irish market is likely to operate in something like limbo until Wall Street takes a firm view on the effect of the Russian crisis. There were indications from New York last night that American investors see events in Russia as more a political than an economic or markets problem.

The front-line stocks which gained most in Tuesday's mini-recovery suffered most from the mark-down in prices yesterday and Bank of Ireland lost all of its gains to close down 38p on £12.35 while AIB was 24p lower on £10.91.

CRH continued to suffer from the weakness in the British building materials sector and was another 28p weaker on 820p. the share price is now back at the level at which it began the year. It's an awful long way from the £11.25 high of a few short months ago.

Indeed were it not for the 30 per cent-plus gains by Elan (which now constitutes over 11 per cent of the index), the ISEQ general would be back close to its 1998 starting-point.

Second-liners also suffered from the lack of buyers, with Fyffes off 7p on 133p while Greencore - a company that has had a good year in the corporate area - lost 5p to 315p.

Irish Continental, a volatile stock of late, dropped 50p to 925p while Waterford Wedgwood, at 69p, is now at its lowest level of the year to date.