Market Report:As much as €4.5 billion was wiped off the value of the Irish market yesterday as the Iseq index failed to escape the onslaught of negative sentiment that continued to sweep the globe.

Dublin, however, suffered more than most because of the large part the financials play in the index. Combined, the four main banks account for 43 per cent of the Iseq's share capital.

AIB was the biggest loser, dropping almost 6 per cent, or €1.17, to end the day at €18.40. This fall alone wiped more than €1 billion off the bank's market value. Bank of Ireland was also badly hit, closing down 5.4 per cent, or 76 cent, at €13.34.

Elsewhere, Anglo was the busiest of the banks, with almost seven million shares changing hands as the stock fell 4.4 per cent, or 61 cent, to end the day at €13.40.

Irish Life & Permanent closed 2.6 per cent, or 47 cent lower, at €16.60. While the banking sector performed badly around the world, the Irish situation was exacerbated by news that house prices fell 2.6 per cent in the first six months of the year.

The only local company-specific news yesterday came from building materials group Readymix, which reported a near halving of its first-half profit, citing the slowdown in the Irish housing sector.

Its shares dropped 8.3 per cent, or 18 cent, to end the day at €1.99, although volume was light.

Other construction-related stocks also declined, with CRH dropping 4.4 per cent, or €1.45, to close at €31.55, while Kingspan ended the day down 3.9 per cent, or 71 cent, at €17.29.

Only two stocks, Providence Resources and Waterford Wedgwood, escaped the negative sentiment, although dealers said it was more luck than anything else.