The ISEQ index of Irish shares finished in the red today, down 21.55 points to 7820.65.
Dragon Oil was among the few stocks to see a rise in value, up 11c to €3.01. Tullow Oil also saw an increase, up 12c to 5.43. The price of Brent North Sea crude oil reached an all-time peak of $69.71 a barrel this morning. The previous high was $69.70, which was reached on Monday.
The performance of pharmaceutical company Elan prevented an overall negative picture from pulling the ISEQ down further. A 64c rise saw Elan's share price close at €11.90.
Financial stocks all suffered losses and it was a similar picture, though the losses were smaller, in the construction sector.