Global stock markets reeled today, shaken by massive sell-offs by panicked investors who fear the US bailout will fail to end a crippling credit crisis.
'There is all-out panic,' one banker said. 'Everyone had hoped that after the acceptance of the package in the US and the bailouts in Europe, things would calm down but in effect, there are still strong fears of the domino effect.'
Dublin's ISEQ index was one of the biggest losers today, down almost 10%, or 391 points, to close at 3,553. The banks especially took a hammering, with Irish Life & Permanent losing 23% and Anglo Irish Bank slumping 22%. One analyst told RTE that there above average daily volumes of bank shares being traded today.
London's FTSE tumbled nearly 8% to stand at 4,589 at the close. Again, banking stocks were hit particularly hard.
Elsewhere, the Paris CAC sank 9% to stand at 3,712, its heaviest one-day loss since its creation in 1988. The Frankfurt DAX was down 7% to 5,387. Meanwhile, a 15% dive in Moscow forced yet another halt to Russian trading today.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones is down over 7% at 7.45pm Irish time, and the Nasdaq is down over 8%.
Earlier this morning in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index ended down 4.25% and the Hang Seng closed almost 5% down.
