European stock markets mostly dropped, as unemployment soared and the service sector contracted further in the US in a stark reminder of the dismal state of the world economy.
London's FTSE closed down 2.3% at 4,030 and Paris dropped 1.1% to 2,959 points but Frankfurt inched up 0.1% to 4,385. There were sharp gains yesterday after the G20 summit in London. RBS was up 8.5% after the group said it would cut more jobs and promised a 'return to paying dividends as soon as practicable'.
US stocks trimmed losses as the Nasdaq turned positive, lifted by results from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion that surpassed expectations. By 5.15pm the Dow Jones had edged up 0.1% to 4,385 and the Nasdaq had gained 0.5% to 1,610. US stocks had wobbled in opening trade as investors digested a dismal March jobs report that was in line with expectations, suggesting that investors were bracing for much worse.
Data showed US employers shed 663,000 jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate to 8.5%, while January's data was revised to show 741,000 jobs lost, the biggest decline since October 1949. In further bad news declines accelerated in the massive US services sector, which contracted for the sixth consecutive month in March.
In Dublin, the ISEQ index of Irish shares reversed early gains to finish down 1.4% at 2,330. Banks continued their recent rises, however, with AIB adding 16% to €1.02, Bank of Ireland gaining 19% to 81 cent and Irish Life & Permanent rising 12% to €1.74.
Earlier, Japan's Nikkei closed up 0.3% to 8,750, after being higher for most of the session.
