European stock markets suffered sharp losses for a second day today as recession clouds deepened over the US economy.
The London FTSE 100 fell over 5% to close at 3,861 points while in Paris the CAC lost nearly 6% to finish at 3,181. The Frankfurt Dax closed almost 5% in negative territory at 4,623.
European markets tracked Wall Street, where the Dow Jones sank deep in the red in this afternoon on news of a sharp plunge in September industrial orders, strengthening prospects for a recession in the world's largest economy.
Later this afternoon, Wall Street struggled back up to flat territory. The Nasdaq was 0.5% up, while the Dow Jones was 0.5% down.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index closed down 102 points (over 3%) to 2,728, with Bank of Ireland down 8% and Anglo Irish Bank down 10%. Irish Life & Permanent, however, showed an 8% gain this afternoon, up 31 cent. Building groups were weak, with Kingspan down 10% to €5.03 and Grafton losing 11% to €2.35.
Earlier Tokyo's Nikkei index dropped 11.4% to close at 8,458. It was the Nikkei's second-largest percentage loss and the steepest fall since the Black Monday crash in October 1987.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed down 768 points (almost 5%) at 15,231.
