World stock markets ended mostly lower again this evening in volatile trading as a disappointing outlook from chip maker Intel sparked fresh concerns about a possible US recession. Figures showing that US consumer prices rose by a slightly stronger than expected 0.3% in December laos affected sentiment.
After a 4% drop on Tuesday, Dublin's ISEQ was steadier, ending down just 10 points at 6,469. Drinks group C&C rallied somewhat from their 17% plunge earlier this morning to close four cent lower at €3.84. The company had said lower UK cider sales would hurt its 2007/2008 earnings. Food stocks were weak, with Kerry losing another 5.7% to €19.20.
In London, the FTSE closed down 83 points at 5,943, with most of the big mining stocks down by as much as 6%. Paris lost 0.5% and Frankfurt ended 1.3% lower.
In the US, the Dow Jones was 25 points higher at 12,526 in a rollercoaster session. The Nasdaq was down 17 at 2,401. Both indices had fallen by more than 2% on Tuesday.
Earlier, Tokyo's Nikkei-225 index tumbled 3.35% to close at 13,505 - a level not seen since October 2005 - as Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda warned that the hefty losses at US banking giant Citigroup 'may affect not only the US economy, but also the world economy.'
