Wall Street shares have plunged for a second straight day as investor panic spread in the face of more weak US economic data. The Dow Jones sank to a fresh five-and-a-half-year low, losing 445 points (5.6%) to 7,552. The Nasdaq lost 70 points (5%) to 1,316 and the S&P 500 plummeted 6.7% to 752.44, the lowest finish since April 1997.
A sell-off accelerated as Democrats in Congress put off a vote on a bail-out for crisis-hit big three car makers until at least December.
Earlier, other world stock markets plunged after a jump in US jobless figures earlier in the day. London's FTSE fell 3.26% to close at 3,875 this evening. In Frankfurt, the DAX lost 3% to end at 4,220 and the CAC 40 in Paris plunged 3.48% to close at 2,980.
Several heavyweight manufacturers announced job cuts today, worsening the gloom. Japan's Isuzu Motors said it would cut 1,400 jobs and slash domestic production by 10%, while French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen announced plans to cut 3,550 posts. Britain's Rolls-Royce said it anticipated cutting between 1,500 and 2,000 jobs worldwide in 2009.
Dublin's ISEQ index slumped 4.36% to end at 2,311 - down 105 points - this evening. The banks gave back their earlier gains and all closed lower. Shares in Irish Life and Permanent slumped 20% to €1.15 while AIB and Bank of Ireland both closed 4% lower at €2.15 and €1.01 respectively. Shares in Anglo Irish Bank closed once again under the €1 level, down 0.5% at 91 cent.
Earlier this morning, Tokyo's Nikkei closed down a huge 6.89% to 7,703, while Hong Kong shed 4%, Seoul dived 6.7% and Sydney slid 4.2%.
