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Global markets fall after U.S. plunge
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ruanlai
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10-Oct-2008 12:32
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Asia, Pacific stocks dropGlobal markets fall after U.S. stock markets plunge.(CNNMoney.com) -- Asia and Pacific stocks opened sharply lower Friday as investor fears about the global financial crisis deepened. On Friday, Japan's Nikkei Exchange was down more than 10% in early trading, dropping below 9,000, while the Australian Securities Exchange was down more than 6% and South Korea's KOSPI Index fell more than 7%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index opened down more than 7.5% and the Shanghai stock market fell more than 5%. The selloff followed another brutal day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 679 points - or 7.3% - on Thursday as panicked investors dumped stocks across the board. The Dow on Thursday closed at its lowest point since May 21, 2003, after its third biggest one-day point-loss ever. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 7.6% and closed at its lowest point since April 28, 2003. The Nasdaq composite lost 5.5% and closed at its lowest point since June 30, 2003. Over the last seven sessions, the Dow has lost 2,271 points, or 20.1%. Since hitting an all-time high of 14,164.53 one year ago Thursday, the Dow has lost 39.4%. The Asian and Pacific markets posted mixed results Thursday, but were relatively stable. South Korea's central bank - the Bank of Korea - gave markets a potential boost when it followed the lead of other central banks and slashed its key interest rate by a quarter percent, the Yonhap news agency reported. The KOSPI index in Seoul closed up 0.6% on the day. In another move to support markets, the Bank of Japan injected $20 billion into money markets. The Nikkei average in Tokyo closed down half a percent Thursday, after declining 9.4% a day earlier. Wednesday's losses represented a new five-year low and the third largest single-day decline ever. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority also did its part to back markets, cutting its key interest rate by half a percent - its second such recent move. Over the last two days, the monetary authority has slashed rates 1.5 points. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index recovered from Wednesday's 8% plunge, gaining 2.8% in Thursday afternoon trading. The Taipei Weighted was down 1.5%. In Indonesia, trading on the Jakarta Stock Exchange was canceled Thursday after the benchmark JSX index sank 10.4% Wednesday before trading was suspended by late morning. Authorities ordered the market to stay closed, possibly through Friday, following a late night Cabinet meeting. Russia's battered stock markets rebounded Thursday after financial regulators reversed a decision to close them, so vigorously that one exchange had to be temporarily closed. The index of leading stocks on the MICEX exchange, where most of Russia's trading takes place, gained nearly 16% before halting trading around midday, the second time in less than three hours of action that it suspended activity. European markets also showed mixed results Thursday, ranging from Sweden's OSMX All Share down 6.37% to Germany's TECDAX up 1.6%. The CNN Wire reports were used in compiling this article. 
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