European stock markets closed sharply lower this evening after US investment bank Lehman Brothers became the latest casualty of the US sub-prime mortgage crisis and filed for bankruptcy.
In London, the FTSE fell 213, almost 4%, to 5,204, with HBOS losing almost 18% to 227p and Royal Bank of Scotland down 10% to 210.5p. In Paris, the CAC tumbled 3.8% to 4,169 and in Frankfurt the DAX shed 2.7% to finish at 6,064.
In Dublin, the ISEQ closed down 139 points (3.2%) at 4,206, with banks among the biggest fallers. Irish Life & Permanent dropped 90 cent to €5.85 and Anglo Irish fell 39 to €4.65. Aer Lingus ended down nine cent at €1.50 amid talk of new restructuring proposals, while Independent News & Media lost 11 to €1.29.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones was down 320 points at 11,102, while the Nasdaq was off 40 at 2,221. Shares in AIG, one of the world's biggest insurance companies, slid 43% to $6.89 on fears it may also face a cash crunch and credit downgrade. Markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong were closed for a holiday.
