European markets closed sharply lower today amid fears of bankruptcy in the US auto industry following the collapse of a rescue plan.
London's FTSE tumbled 2.5% to finish at 4,280, with financials showing heavy losses. HBOS was down 23% after it reported a sharp rise in bad debts in the last two months, and its future partner Lloyds was down 18%.
In Paris the CAC was down 2.8% to 3,214 points, while the Frankfurt DAX lost over 2% to close at 4,663.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index has fallen 96 points (3.7%) to 2,505, with Bank of Ireland down 7 cent to 88 cent, and Irish Life & Permanent down 9 cent to €1.52. But Anglo Irish Bank made up for heavy losses throughout the day just before trading closed, and was down less than 1% at 37 cent.
On Wall Street, markets are hovering around flat this afternoon after the White House said it is considering using some of the $700 billion bailout fund for the financial sector to prevent a collapse of the carmakers. The Dow Jones is down 55 points at 8,509 and the Nasdaq is up 7 points at 1,515.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei index slumped by 5.6% to 8,236 as exporters were hit by a stronger yen, which undercuts their overseas earnings. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 5.5% to 14,758.
